Bleach Advent Challenge 2015
by FreelanceDreamer
Summary: A series of (most likely) one-shots and short drabbles centering around Ukitake and Kyōraku, but I may decide to add in or switch up the characters as I go.
1. Nothing Between Friends

**A.N.** Hey there! I've decided to take on what's known as an Advent Challenge, meaning that I'm going to be posting one drabble a day from now (Dec 1) until Dec 25. I decided that it was best for me to write about Jushiro and Shunsui - they're probably my two favourite Bleach characters. I don't particularly ship them together sexually or romantically, but they're friendship is so deep and complex that I couldn't resist trying my hand at exploring it more in-depth. If you've any type of prompt that you want to send to me feel free to send it to my Tumblr - same name as found here, or just leave it in a review. Enjoy!

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When the first stirrings of consciousness started to come back to him, the first thing Jūshirō noticed was the pain.

Then again, it was always the pain.

It wasn't often that the minor flare-ups of his illness caused him to pass out, but regardless of how severe the attack of his illness was, the pain in his throat and chest were always focal when he woke. His throat burned, it felt like someone had rubbed the lining of his wind pipe with sandpaper, and the burning made him want to claw at his own skin. He didn't, because he knew it would do him no good, and in the end he found that he did not have the energy to do so. The second thing he noticed, as awareness came back to him slowly, was the warm feeling that was spreading throughout his chest. The warmth soothed the pain in his chest, and then moved to his throat, taking the edge off enough for him to become away of other things.

"My my, you're sure taking your time to come around, Ukitake." The voice that spoke was familiar and laced with amusement that almost – but not quite – masked the concern that was also there.

"Kyōraku?" His eyelids were heavy, and when he finally managed to open them he could see Shunsui's tanned hand on his chest alit with blue healing kidō. Neither of them had any particular aptitude for healing, but hundreds of years of being injured in battle had allowed them to become somewhat of experts in battlefield healing. This wasn't the first time that Jūshirō had woken up to Shunsui easing the pain caused by his illness; it wasn't worth it to go to the Fourth every time he had an attack, the milder one could be dealt with at Ugendō for the most part.

"Hello handsome, welcome back," Kyōraku greeted, and Jūshirō was instantly comforted by the easygoing tone of his voice. Jūshirō was grateful for his friendship with Kyōraku for many reason, not the least of which was that he never treated Jūshirō as fragile, and after ensuring that he was okay after an attack, Kyōraku didn't fuss or hover.

"How long?" Jūshirō croaked, the words irritated the state of his throat, and he instinctively brought his hand up to cover the area that hurt. His hand was brushed aside easily by Kyōraku's, which lit up again in healing kidō and eased the pain.

"Not long," Kyōraku answered after a moment, before helping Jūshirō into a sitting position and supporting him until the dizziness passed. Without asking – this was a routine they'd perfected long ago – Kyōraku left him to go and set the water to boil and prepare one of the various medicinal teas that Jūshirō had lining his cupboards.

While Kyōraku prepared the tea Jūshirō tried to compose himself. Even after a few moments of sitting still the dizziness hadn't faded completely, and it hurt to breathe. Slowly, he managed to manoeuver himself into seiza and get a good look at himself; his hand and sleeve was covered in blood, and he pulled the captain's haori off to get a good look at it. Years of practice had allowed him to perfect his method of getting blood out of various items of clothing, sometimes when they were really bad he would ask the Captain Commander for a new one, but even the thought made his skin crawl.

He hadn't noticed Kyōraku's return until the tea had been placed in front of him and Kyōraku was kneeling across from him. They drank tea in silence for a few moments, for which Jūshirō was thankful. The tea did wonders to soothe his throat as well as help him to completely come back to his senses. It was always disorienting when the attacks were so bad they he passed out; Kyōraku had told him that he hadn't been out for long and judging by the amount of light he could see, it really hadn't been that long. Even still, he hated having to take time off and leave his division so abruptly. He was tired, but that was never an appropriate way to judge anything, he was always exhausted after an attack.

"You're quiet today," Kyōraku stated simply.

Jūshirō chuckled and regretted it almost immediately as the pain returned with a vengeance.

"Don't do that," Jūshirō reprimanded.

"Do what?" Kyōraku asked innocently.

"Don't do _that_. Don't make me laugh, it hurts to laugh."

Kyōraku grinned, but said nothing as he took another sip of his tea.

"Thank you, Kyōraku," Jūshirō said quietly. When he glanced over his eyes met with Kyōraku's for a brief moment but nothing more was said between them. There was nothing more to be said; in the same way that Jūshirō would a have been mortified to have Shunsui hover over him, Shunsui would never have accepted excessive gratitude.

They were friends, and there was no room for such things between friends. Once Jūshirō was settled to sleep and Shunsui was sure that he wasn't in any immediate danger of having another flare-up he would leave, and he would come back to visit each day until Jūshirō was well enough to go back to work.

That was how it was between them, and it worked.


	2. Photographs and Memories

**A.N.** Hello, and welcome to Day 2! Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to the positive reception I received yesterday. I look forward to continuing to share the plot bunnies that pop into my head for the next 23 days. Enjoy!

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"Shunsui…is this you?"

"Hmm?" Shunsui tipped his head back to look at his fiancé.

"This picture," Nanao repeated, before she walked back to him, a small frame in hand.

Shunsui took one look at the photo before a grin split his lips at the very old photo that Nanao had found.

"I mean; I know it's you. I've just never seen any photographs of you and captain Ukitake so…young."

Shunsui quirked an eyebrow, "Are you calling me old Nanao-chan?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not answering that."

He placed the photo on the table and leaned closer to her, "My maturity is one of the things that attracted you to me though, isn't it Nanao-chan?" His voice dipped suggestively towards the end of his sentence.

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped.

Ukitake returned just as Shunsui's laughter died down, if he'd heard anything of their conversation, he was too polite to let it show. Nanao had always thought that Ukitake had an excellent poker face, most likely the product of years of having to cover up for Shunsui, something she could sympathize with all too well.

"What's this?" Ukitake asked as he set the tea down.

"My beautiful fiancé has found a photograph of yours from our last year at the Academy," Shunsui responded. Nanao knew better than to try and get Shunsui to address her properly, and it wasn't as if Ukitake wasn't used to it.

She loved him for it regardless.

"Oh?" Ukitake murmured as he took the photograph from Shunsui's hand. A soft smile spread across his lips and his eyes seemed to lose focus as long neglected memories came back to the front of his mind.

"This was taken a month before our graduation," Ukitake said. "One of our classmates had been to the Living World, and it was right around the time when polaroid cameras were popular."

Shunsui chuckled, "I remember now. He took photos of everyone, he even tried to take one of Yama-jii…that camera didn't last long."

Ukitake laughed, "He was so broken hearted."

Nanao smiled as she listened to them. Although she'd agreed to marry him, there was still an incredible amount she didn't know about Shunsui, the depth of his relationship with Ukitake was just one of those aspects. She'd watched their interactions since she'd become a member of the Gotei 13, sometimes it was as if they were extensions of each other. Which was strange to her because they were very different people.

Picking up the photograph again, she studied the two young men pictured there. They almost looked foreign, there was an innocence and youth in their features that had been stripped away long ago.

"Admiring me in my youth, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui teased.

She smirked, "Absolutely not. I just don't see many pictures of you with short hair and sparse facial hair."

"Are my long hair and beard things you love about me, my precious Nanao-chan?"

He barely managed to avoid being hit with the frame.

Ukitake laughed, drawing both Shunsui and Nanao out of their momentary lover's spat.

"You two are good for each other. It's a good thing you finally came to your senses, Kyōraku. "

Shunsui's eyebrows hit his hairline, "Me?! I've professed my love for my Nanao-chan for years!"

Nanao smiled at the knowing look Ukitake gave her. She didn't doubt that Shunsui understood exactly what Ukitake was implying, but there was no way he'd abandon the light-hearted atmosphere of the night to speak about something so serious.

"You know, Nanao-chan," Shunsui stated, changing the subject. "Ukitake was quite the lady's man himself during his years at the Academy."

Ukitake made a sound of protest, shaking his head vehemently. "Don't even go there, Kyōraku. I was no such thing."

"Nonsense Ukitake! I remember quite a trail of broken hearts, but none of them compared to Hoshino-san. That was her name right? Ukitake?"

Shunsui's head tossed back in laughter as Ukitake murmured something about dishes and excused himself from the table. Nanao laughed along with her fiancé, but only because she knew that Ukitake would get his revenge in some form or another, and that would be a spectacle in and of itself.

She stole one final glance down at the photograph on the table. It was true that the boys in the photo were long gone, but she'd become quite fond of the men that had replaced them.


	3. A Different Kind of Love

**A.N.** Day 3! Another day, another drabble. Busy day = shorter drabble. This popped into my head today during my hellish commute to Uni, and it basically wrote itself for which I am very grateful. Third year nursing is hard! _Anyways…_ Enjoy!

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They had kissed once.

Well, they had kissed on multiple occasions, but they'd only kissed with romantic intent once.

It has been a strange experience for the both of them. They had met at the Academy and become friends instantly, and by the end of the year it was as if they had known each other for multiple lifetimes. They loved each other immensely, and it was a confusing situation, to love another person with such intensity but not have the means to define such a love.

Both Jūshirō and Shunsui had siblings, so they knew what that type of love was like. Both had parents and other friends whom they loved, but the love between them was an entirely different phenomenon.

The kiss itself was awkward. A mere hesitant brushing of lips. A bad kiss by all accounts. The tension in the air was palpable when they pulled back and finally opened their eyes. They regarded each other awkwardly before Shunsui finally cleared his throat and he spoke up.

"Anything?" He asked.

Jūshirō let out the breath he'd been holding and shook hid head fractionally.

"Nothing. You?"

"Nothing," Shunsui echoed.

Jūshirō sat back on his heels, frowning lightly as he thought through what had just occurred.

"So what now?" Jūshirō asked after a moment.

Shunsui shrugged, his typical easygoing nature returning and erasing any signs of uneasiness he'd previously been feeling.

"Maybe we don't need to figure this out right now…we'll just continue as we were and if something changes later on we'll deal with it then."

Jūshirō's face gave away some of the trepidation he'd been feeling, but Shunsui's instincts were good and there was nothing else they could really do.

Later on, Shunsui found himself talking to Yama-jii about the situation. The man had become like a father to him ever since Shunsui had been sent to the Academy, and he needed someone to talk to about what he was feeling.

He hadn't mentioned Jūshirō, of course. He'd made up a female classmate to take Jūshirō's place.

When he'd finished telling the story, Yama-jii had grunted and given Shunsui a look that had made the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Yama-jii?" Shunsui asked tentatively.

"Is sex the only thing you think about?" Yamamoto's voice was harsh.

"What? No!" Shunsui spluttered.

"Well then you must be using the wrong brain if you thought that relationship between you and Jūshirō would be made better with sex."

Shunsui wasn't sure whether to laugh of cry. "This has nothing to do with Ukitake," Shunsui asserted quietly.

Yamamoto rolled his eyes, "Of course it does. You'd never come to me to talk about some girl who turned you down. _That_ happens every other day, despite my efforts to get you to focus on your studies."

Shunsui scowled, but refused to show any other signs of frustration in Yama-jii's presence.

Surprisingly, Yamamoto laughed and cuffed Shunsui lightly over the ear, making Shunsui's scowl break ever so slightly.

"Your friendship with Jūshirō is something unique. Don't try and confuse it by adding in romance or sex. There are other types of love, Shunsui."

It wasn't the answer he'd been looking for, then again, he hadn't really been looking for any specific answer. Deep down he'd known that Yama-jii wouldn't have any magic solution for him, but he did feel better despite not coming to any concrete solution.

Throughout the years people had come and gone. People had died, changed divisions, got married, or they'd simply grown apart. The only constant in Shunsui's life had been Jūshirō, and the reverse was just as true. They'd learned to stop trying to define their relationship long ago, it didn't bother either of them in the slightest when people thought they were in a relationship because in a way, they were. It was just a different, and possibly deeper type of relationship.

It worked for them, and that was all that mattered.


	4. Just a Little Bit Worse

Jūshirō Ukitake was dying.

When Nanao had first been told the news her entire world had com to a halt. All of the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place at once. She hadn't seen nor heard from her captain all day, but of course he'd be with Ukitake at such a time. He probably hadn't given any thought to trying to contact the division because he knew that she would take care of it. She was the only one left in the office, the working day had ended just under an hour ago but she'd wanted to finish what she'd been working on. She didn't even think to put away what she'd been working on and she was at the Fourth division in one flash step.

The waiting area of the division was full of people. It looked like the entire Thirteenth division was there, as well as an assortment of other captain, vice captains, and others. She paid them little heed as she pushed through the crowd to get to the desk.

By pure change the first member of the division that she ran into was Isane, who took one look at her before grabbing Nanao by the wrist and dragging her through the halls to the room where she could sense her captain's spiritual pressure,

She tried not to let the shock show on her face when she saw Captain Ukitake. She'd spent many nights besides her captain at Ukitake's bedside but she'd never seen him look that bad. The bags his eyes were deep and his skin was drawn sharply over the bones of his face. His skin was nearly translucent and his hair seemed to have thinned out over night. His eyes were closed and Nanao could hear him wheezing from across the room, his breathing sparse and irregular. Nanao had take some advanced medical classes at the Academy, but the slow beeping of the monitor he was hooked up to told her all she needed to know about the status of his heart.

Wordlessly she knelt down beside her captain, who hadn't acknowledged her presence other than simply flicking his eyes to her when she's first entered the room. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it after a moment when she realized there was nothing she could say.

They sat in silence for a few minutes listening to the ominous beeping of the vital signs machine and the sounds of Ukitake's ragged breathing. Before Nano even realized that her captain had moved, he'd taken her hand and was leading her silently out into the hall.

Nanao smothered a gasp when she got her first good glimpse at her captain. He didn't look as bad as Ukitake but he was suffering right along with his best friend.

"He's dying Nanao." He said bluntly. There was no discernable emotion in his voice.

She said nothing, but instead took one of his large hands between hers and held it firmly. There was nothing she could say to ease his pain. Her heart ached for both of them, they were inseparable in the minds of most of the Gotei 13. The thought of losing one of them was an indescribable loss, but to have the other survive and go on alone was worse.

She hadn't noticed the tears until he brought his free hand to her cheek and delicately brushed it away.

"We should go back in... I think it's almost time." His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper in the silent hall.

Suddenly he looked at her, and the desperate look in his eyes terrified her. "You'll stay Nanao-chan? Ukitake would like that, he's very fond of you."

There was no way she could refuse him, even if she didn't feel as if she completely belonged at Ukitake's deathbed. She wouldn't realize the truth until later on, that the real reason that captain Kyōraku had been so desperate to have her there was for _him_ and not Ukitake.

Back inside the room Nanao instinctively took a hold of one of Ukitake's hands; his skin was so cold that if she hadn't known otherwise, she would have assumed he had died while they were in the hall. Her thumbs stroked over his knuckles, and at one point she could have sworn that he squeezed her hand lightly, but she doubted he possessed the strength to have done so.

She couldn't see her captain's face as they sat at the bedside for what seemed like hours. As time dragged on Nanao found it hard for her to breathe at times, as the reality of what was happening began to sink in and she realized the injustice of it all. Ukitake was a kind and strong man, his sense of justice was nearly unparalleled, and his generosity was legendary. Nanao felt rage begin to bubble up inside her, not only for Ukitake's sake but for her captain as well. It was hard to predict how the captain was going to react, but Nanao knew that it was not going to be good. It was going to be long, and painful, and her heart was going to break along with his over and over again as they tried to adjust to a new normal that would always just be a little bit worse.

Nanao picked up on the panic and terror that was evident through Ukitake's spirit pressure (he was too weak to shield it) before the monitor began to beep incessantly as Ukitake's heart rate sped up. Before she had to chance to call out for anyone, her captain had leaned over his oldest friend, his mouth close to Ukitake's ear and his mouth moving quickly, although Nanao could not hear the words. Ukitake's breaths were ragged and painful, but shallow at the same time, and even as his chest heaved Nanao could tell that he wasn't pulling in enough oxygen. She clutched to Ukitake's hand and tried to send as much calm and peace as she could to him, even as her captain continued to speak words, of what Nanao could only guess were reassurance, into his ear.

In a way that caused Nanao's heart to shatter, she watched Ukitake's chest heave one last time, before he exhaled on a sigh, and the hand that Nanao had held onto for hours went limp in her grasp.

The world seemed to fall away to a dull roar in Nanao's ears, and the next thing she knew was that she was in captain Kyōraku's arms in another part of the Fourth division. They were sitting against the wall in an empty room. His grip on her was so tight she knew she'd have bruises later on, and yet she welcomed the pain; likely because her hold on him was just as tight. His head was buried in the crook of her neck, and she could feel his breath again her skin. They sat there forever, neither saying a word nor moving a muscle.

And then, they did move. Or rather, her captain moved, and stood, and set her down on her feet, although, he did not release her hand just yet. She watched him take a deep breath in, his chest expanding completely, and exhale slowly. His chin rose, and she knew that it was time to step out of the sanctuary that had created for themselves to avoid reality.

A reality that would forever be, just a little bit worse.

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 **A.N.** I don't…I don't know. I'm sorry. I had a good day today, I finished classes for the semester, went out and had dinner with some friends, did normal human things…and yet this horrible story demanded to be written. I think I'm still trying to come to terms with his death – part of me hopes he's alive, but if he is dead, then it was a good death for him I think. Ukitake is my favourite character, I miss him. There was no way I could write this from Shunsui's perspective, that type of pain would be indescribable.


	5. Facial Hair and Acts of Friendship

**A.N.** A little more of a light-hearted drabble for Day 5! Mild spoilers for the _Theatre Suicide_ chapters, but you could read this and not having anything major spoiled, your choice. Thanks for all the continued support for this series, it means a lot to me. Enjoy!

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Shunsui began to grow out his beard and hair after his brother died.

The resemblance between them had never been very pronounced, but he'd found that it was hard to look in the mirror because it had become an easy mistake for him to make. He hadn't been very close to his brother, especially after he'd been sent away to the Academy, but his loss had been hard.

It had been an easy task, his hair had always grown fast and once he'd found a suitable grooming technique for his beard he'd had no trouble with it. He'd received a few questioning glances from those around him when he'd first begun to change his appearance, but he'd played it off and no one seemed particularly inclined to push the issue.

Jūshirō had never seemed interested in growing any facial hair, although he did grow out his hair quite considerably once they'd both become seated officers. Shunsui never pushed the issue, Jūshirō was a youthful-looking man, and a white beard would look out of place on him anyways.

At least, that's what Shunsui had assumed.

Jūshirō had told Shunsui about his illness fairly early into their friendship. There was no point in hiding it, many people already knew about it or had at least heard rumours about it. For many years Shunsui had never witnessed a serious attack, a few had Jūshirō spend an afternoon in the infirmary, and common colds could force him to spend a few days at Ugendō, but when Shunsui visited he never really looked haphazard, just a little worse for the wear.

That was, until one afternoon when Shunsui was a fourth seat and Jūshirō was a sixth seat, and they'd gone to one of the courtyards to train. The attack had come on suddenly, and Shunsui had barely managed to catch his friend before he could fall face first to the ground.

Shunsui would have stayed with Jūshirō at the Fourth division if he'd been allowed to do so, but there had been an unusual surge in Hollow activity and he'd been drawn away to help eradicate the threat. By the time he'd finally managed to visit his friend at Ugendō three days had gone by.

He found Jūshirō sitting on the back porch, drinking one of his many different medicinal teas. Sensing his presence Jūshirō had turned to him…

And had promptly caused Shunsui to break out into laughter.

"You…your beard," Shunsui had managed to choke out between breaths.

At Jūshirō's questioning glance, Shunsui tired to compose himself in order to form a complete sentence.

"It's _black_ ," Shunsui finally managed.

Jūshirō scowled at him, which made Shunsui laugh even harder. It had never occurred to him that Jūshirō's beard might grow in black. Shunsui had never seen something that looked so out of place; three day's worth of black stubble covered Jūshirō's chin and parts of his jawline, and it looked so _ridiculous._

"That's a good look for you," Shunsui said offhandedly when he'd finally calmed down and he took a seat beside Ukitake, who still looked vaguely annoyed at him.

"It could be worse," Shunsui offered when Jūshirō didn't respond, "It could grow in white, like I thought it did."

Jūshirō rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly nonetheless. "That's not helpful, Kyōraku."

"It wasn't intended to be," Shunsui replied easily.

"Well," Jūshirō said after a moment, "I guess I should go shave."

Shunsui chuckled, and cleaned up the porch after his friend had gone back inside. When Jūshirō re-emerged from the bath sometime later he looked exactly like Shunsui remembered.

"Better?" Jūshirō asked.

"Very handsome," Shunsui agreed.

Jūshirō let out an exasperated laugh, "You're incorrigible."

Shunsui shrugged, "What can I say?"

"You can't tell anyone about the beard. I'm serious, Kyōraku."

Shunsui waved the comment away, "It's not that bad really."

Jūshirō frowned, "The last thing I need is for someone to get a picture of that. You never know when something like that could come back to haunt you."

Shunsui had never entirely figured out why Jūshirō had been so reluctant to be seen with facial hair. He was a highly respected captain of the Gotei 13, and there weren't many who even knew about the secret to expose it.

Nevertheless, every time Jūshirō's illness had an exacerbation that was so severe that he ended up bedridden and unable to exhaust energy on activities such as shaving, Shunsui did it for him. In the beginning it had been quiet an awkward ordeal, Shunsui wasn't used to shaving someone else and there had been more than a few nicks and cuts left where the stubble had once covered. Overtime, Shunsui had become used to the act, and it required minimal focus on the rare occasions when it was needed. It was equal parts clinical and intimate, Shunsui knew for a fact that the trust required to let someone held a knife against your throat was immense, and it wasn't something he took for granted. Jūshirō was always grateful though, no matter how many hundreds of years had passed of them practicing the same routine. It was such a small thing, yet it meant so much to Jūshirō that Shunsui could do little more than oblige, especially considering the types of favours Jūshirō had done for him over the years.

Not that they kept count, that was never an issue for them. It didn't make sense to keep track, no one could keep those numbers straight for long.

Shunsui counted each brush of the blade over as a blessing. After all, dead men didn't need shaving.


	6. A First For Everything

**A.N.** A bit of a struggle to get this out tonight. Was really lacking the motivation/inspiration for Day 6. Hopefully I'll get my muse back and things will start flowing naturally again. Continued thanks for all the support, enjoy!

* * *

Their first fight had been started over an empty tea cup.

It was exam season in their final year at the Academy, and as usual Jūshirō had spent the majority of his time preparing while Shunsui procrastinated and drank as normal. Jūshirō never did well when he didn't get enough sleep, it only took one sleepless night to make him irritable and short-tempered, which added to the stress of exams and planning life after graduation.

The tension between them had been palpable for a couple of days, but they'd learned to give each other a wide berth. Jūshirō spent most of his time at the library, and as long at Shunsui was alone in their dorm when he retuned he couldn't have cared less about what Shunsui did while he was alone.

The night before the advanced kidō exam Jūshirō was holed up in the library well past any reasonable hour before he'd finally trudged back to the dorm, ready to get a couple hours sleep before getting back to some last-minute studying before the exam. Because of the complexity of the content, the teacher had agreed to allow each study a cheat sheet that they could write anything they wanted on, to take into the exam. Dropping his bag onto the floor next to his desk, Jūshirō had stopped dead when he'd seen the state of his cheat sheet. What was once a page's worth of neat and legible writing, was now a series of ink smudges and multi-coloured blotches.

Balling his fists, he'd stormed over to the door to Shunsui's room and had banged his fist against the frame, nearly breaking it in the process. After a moment of eerie calm, Jūshirō heard the undeniable sounds of Shunsui dragging his feet across the floor, and then the door slid open, revealing a half-naked, and very sleepy Shunsui.

"What happened to my notes?" Jūshirō asked, trying his best to keep his tone level.

Shunsui scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely confused. "What notes?"

"On the desk!" Jūshirō snapped. "I left my cheat sheet for the kidō exam on my desk and it's ruined!"

Jūshirō saw the exact moment that realization dawned in Shunsui's eyes. "Oh…I spilt tea on it."

Jūshirō blinked slowly, "You what?"

Shunsui grinned sheepishly, "I tripped on the rug and I accidentally spilled tea on it. You've been studying for weeks, Ukitake. Don't worry! You'll do great tomorrow!"

Jūshirō wasn't sure what exactly came over him, but the next thing he knew he'd pinned Shunsui to the ground and was in the process of punching his best friend square in the jaw. He hadn't counted how many punches he got in before he felt himself thrown off of Shunsui and into the adjacent wall, his head hitting the wall with a resounding thud.

"What the hell Jūshirō?!" Shunsui yelled at him, from the spot on the ground he'd been pinned against.

"You're so full of shit!" Jūshirō yelled back. "If you want to fail your way through school that's up to you, but you have no right to jeopardize my future!"

He'd barely managed to finish the sentence before he'd launched himself at Shunsui again. All the frustration and stress of the past couple of weeks fueled him on as he sparred with Shunsui, each blow a tangible release for his pent-up emotions. Not that Shunsui hadn't landed a few good punches as well; they were both at the top of the class and were pretty evenly matched.

Neither had realized that people were filling the dorm room until two strong pairs of arms tore them apart and held them back firmly when they would have gone after each other again.

"Enough!" The undeniable baritone of Yamamoto's voice caused everyone in the room to halt.

Jūshirō's chest heaved from the fighting he'd just gone through and he tried to catch his breath. He felt a small amount of satisfaction when he saw that Shunsui looked a little worse for the wear as well.

Yamamoto took one look at the both of them before grabbing them by the backs of their necks and shoving them out of the door. Jūshirō knew better than to resist as he was pushed through the halls to Yamamoto's office. At least he had some clothing on, Shunsui was still naked from the waist up.

When they got into the office, Yamamoto left them at the entrance and disappeared into the back, coming back moment later with a haori for Shunsui. Wiping the corned of his mouth with the back of his hand, Jūshirō took up the appropriate seiza position in front of Yamamoto's desk.

"Now," Yamamoto started off gruffly. "What's going on that you two woke up half the Academy in the middle of the night."

"He attacked me!" Shunsui shouted, the look he gave to Jūshirō was one of betrayal.

"Oh please," Jūshirō snorted. "You destroyed my notes! They were on my desk, you didn't even have to do anything and yet you managed to spill tea over everything!"

"It was an accident!"

"Oh yeah, you must have felt so bad that the minute you'd done it, you decided the best course of action was _to go to bed_!"

"Enough!" Yamamoto's fist came down hard on the desk in accentuation to his words, causing both Jūshirō and Shunsui to startle.

"Listen to me, you pair of idiots," Yamamoto growled. "Shunsui, learn to own up to your actions. You'll never been a member of the Gotei 13 if you can't learn to act like a man. Jūshirō – it's unacceptable to attack a classmate over something so trivial."

Yamamoto took a break to assess to two students in front of him. Both of which had wisely decided to remain silent and let him finish.

"If you two are lucky you're going to have long and successful careers as members of the Gotei 13. Which means you're going to step on each other's toes quiet a few times over the rest of your lives. Man up, talk it out, and let it go. Am I understood?"

Yamamoto's tone left no room for argument, and reluctantly both students murmured their acknowledgement before being dismissed.

The walk back to their dorm was tense and quiet. Everyone had cleared out of the hallways, so there was nothing else to focus on.

"You split my lip," Shunsui said a little over half-way into the trip.

"You deserved it," Jūshirō grumbled, still unwilling to let the situation go entirely.

"Oh come on, Ukitake! Sure I deserved the first punch, but I didn't deserve the complete ass-whooping you handed to me."

Jūshirō smirked, "You beat me up too, you know."

"Of course. I wasn't going to let you kick my ass without at least getting in a few good punches."

Jūshirō shook his head. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

Shunsui ran a hand through his hair, "No I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your notes. I didn't realize what they were."

Jūshirō sighed, "Well it doesn't matter now anyways."

Shunsui shrugged, "Well the night is still young, we could try and get another one made."

Jūshirō laughed, "It's the middle of the night. No…I'm tired. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

That fight had been the first of many, however, neither forgot what Yamamoto had taught them that night, and they always tried to work it out before it came to blows. As they grew older, there was less and less to fight about, and on the rare occasions when they told that story, it always resulted in surprised faces. Secretly, it was a memory that they both treasured, a memory of a time long gone, with loved ones that were long dead.

After that night, Shunsui never spilled another cup of tea in the dorm, and Jūshirō never left his notes open on the desk again either.


	7. Home Visits

**A.N.** A bit of fluff for Day 7. I thought this was a cute little drabble, and it was a good way to procrastinate when I should really be studying for my exams, haha. Enjoy!

* * *

Jūshirō met Shunsui's parents while they were students at the Academy. The Kyōraku estate was among the largest he'd ever visited, but the atmosphere was a cold one. Shunsui's parents were polite enough, but their smiles were distant and their air of nobility had made Jūshirō uneasy. Even though Jūshirō knew that they hadn't seen Shunsui in years (he avoided going home unless absolutely necessary) there was still no real affection shown for their youngest son. It had made Jūshirō grateful for the home he had grown up in - both of his parents had died before he entered the Academy but he'd known love right up until the day they died. They were exhaustive in their efforts to find a cure for his illness, and even though they hadn't been able to find one, Jūshirō would be eternally grateful.

That was what prompted Jūshirō to invite Shunsui back to Ugendō. At the time, most of his younger siblings still lived at the family estate, which made for a very chaotic environment, but a fun and exciting one. Jūshirō had been hesitant to take Shunsui to Ugendō, his family was of nobility, but very low-nobility when compared to the Kyōraku family, and the estate reflected that fact.

"Do any of your younger siblings have spiritual powers?" Shunsui asked as they packed for the trip.

"No, not yet. I'm sure at least a couple of them will; it would be really strange for me to be the only one seeing as there's eight of us in total."

Shunsui whistled, "I can't believe that. Eight kids – your parents were saints."

Jūshirō nodded, his smile reminiscent. "They were. They were exceptionally kind people. I was lucky, because I got to spend many years with them. My youngest sister was still learning to talk when they died."

Shunsui nodded slowly, and there was a moment of silence before he did the zipper on the bag up with a flourish.

"Alright! Let's get out of this place, Ukitake!"

The trip to Ugendō was a quick one, especially since they both learned how to flash step and they were there in no time at all. The outside of the estate was serene; the koi ponds were a myriad of different coloured fish and the bonsai trees were all perfectly trimmed. Jūshirō had to admit that he was surprised at the cleanliness and order of the estate, then again it was very possible that they had cleaned in preparation for his arrival.

When they entered, Jūshirō didn't even have time to announce their arrival before a blur of long black hair streaked down the hall and Jūshirō found his arms full of one of his sisters.

"Onii-chan! You're home!"

Jūshirō laughed, and hugged the girl close. "Seiko! You get bigger every time I come home!"

Shunsui found himself unable to resist laughing as he watched Jūshirō hug and tickle his younger sister. Before long the entrance was full of people from an entire spectrum of age. It was the first time Shunsui had met any of Jūshirō's family. It was an interesting experience; the majority of them had the same fair complexion as Ukitake, although Jūshirō was far paler. The hair was the main difference – Shunsui had had a hard time imagining Jūshirō with black hair, but seeing his sibling made it a little easier; they all had dark hair but there was slight variation between colour.

When everything had calmed down, Jūshirō was finally able to make introductions, although Shunsui had a hard time keeping all the names straight. No one seemed to mind though, and he was quickly enveloped into embraces and ushered further into the room. It was incredibly loud, but Shunsui loved it, it was everything he didn't get at home and reminded him of the parties at the Academy that he loved.

Dinner was an event. Shunsui had left the elder Ukitake siblings to cook and he'd tasked himself with entertaining the younger ones. He was the younger brother, so he'd never had the chance to experience younger sibling, but he fell in love with Jūshirō's siblings almost instantly, and they were great fun.

Later into the evening Shunsui and Jūshirō sat out on the back porch, listening to the crickets and watching the stars. Both of them could feel the tiredness that accompanied a long and eventful day begin to drape over them, but they were happy nonetheless.

"They really like you, you know," Jūshirō began. "They're already planning for you to come back over the winter break."

Shunsui laughed, "I look forward to it. I can't believe you manage to support this place basically on your own…just how good of a tutor are you?"

Jūshirō smirked, "Well I don't drink nearly as much alcohol you do. It's impressive how much money you can save with sobriety."

Shunsui rolled his eyes, "Boring!"

Jūshirō chuckled and pushed Shunsui lightly, knocking his friend slightly off balance. They spent the rest of the break at Ugendō, and Shunsui was almost reluctant to bid farewell when they were ready to leave. It was easy to fall in love with the Ukitake children, they all shared a kindness and genuineness that had attracted Shunsui to Jūshirō initially.

Shunsui had gone home with Jūshirō to visit his family numerous times throughout their career at the Academy and onwards. They were an extended family of sorts of his, and it was always an occasion when they all managed to get together.

That was the trip that had made Shunsui promise himself that one day he'd have a large family of his own. A home filled with love and laughter. As time went by, that dream was pushed to the back of his mind as more prominent and pressing issues arose; but he never forgot his promise.

Some things were worth the wait.


	8. Acts of Misconstrued Indecency

**A.N.** Quick little drabble – exams start tomorrow so it's been a struggle to get everything done and still put as much love and dedications into these stories as I can. I hope you're all still enjoying them, hopefully the next couple of days will be a little bit better in terms of finding time to write. Enjoy!

* * *

Shunsui and Jūshirō had been found in compromising positions far too many times to count. The majority of the time it happened by accident, mixed with misunderstanding. It wasn't uncommon for many first year students at the Academy to trip over their own feet while learning proper positions and stances, and neither Shunsui nor Jūshirō had been immune to that. Many students fell over each other, but most were embarrassed and tried to get back up as quickly as possible. Shunsui's nature made it so that he never passed up the opportunity to embarrass others when he ended up on top of Jūshirō, who never really felt anything more than exasperated by Shunsui's antics.

It happened even after they'd become officers of the Gotei 13; through some circumstance they'd end up in an awkward position that was easily misinterpreted. It didn't help that most people assumed that they were sleeping together – it allowed for people to take a look at the circumstance and come up with the complete wrong answer; which for the most part didn't bug them.

It had worked out well for the SWA, they'd been able to make some money off of a photo shoot that had enthralled Shunsui and that Jūshirō had reluctantly agreed too, where the main story had been on of romance between them. Neither of them had really expected the photos to be so popular – their story was an old that they'd thought had faded into obscurity. Nonetheless, the income from the photos was so great that the SWA had bothered them for months to do a second one, only losing interest when Hisagi and Kira had become popular.

One particular morning, Jūshirō – in an attempt to help out Nanao who had inadvertently expressed her frustration over her captain's unwillingness to work - had hidden Shunsui's sake to get him to stop slacking off and get some work done. It was an old trick, and before noon Jūshirō sensed his oldest friend's spiritual pressure in the Thirteenth division. Minutes later, the door to his office slid open and Jūshirō tried to maintain his composure under Shunsui's gaze.

"Morning, Ukitake." Shunsui greeted cordially.

Jūshirō inclined his head, "Morning. What brings you here?"

Shunsui arched an eyebrow, "I think you know exactly why I'm here."

Jūshirō leaned back is his chair, trying to look as innocent and nonchalant as possible. "I don't think I do."

Shunsui grinned, "You think I won't find it? I know you, Ukitake. I know all of your hiding spots."

As he spoke, Shunsui began to slowly walk the perimeter of the room. Jūshirō resisted the urge to turn his body to track the movement, it would only tip Shunsui off; he was very good at reading people.

Jūshirō figured out Shunsui's plan only seconds before Shunsui pounced on him, too late to prevent or counter the movement.

"Kyōraku!" Jūshirō shouted, indignantly.

"Of course you'd keep it on you," Shunsui murmured as they struggled. "You've underestimated my ability to get you out of you clothes."

Jūshirō was tempted to laugh, but he was too focused on trying to get Shunsui's hands out of his uniform. He'd figured that Shunsui would at least search some of the more obvious and common hiding places before figuring it out. Just as Shunsui was about to get his hands on the bottle the door to Jūshirō's office slid opening, causing both men to freeze.

"Captain Ukitake?"

Jūshirō's hand tightened almost to the point of pain on Shunsui's arm. They'd been caught in many indecent positions before, but they'd never been caught with Shunsui's hand down his shirt in his own office before.

"Ahh…Kuchiki-san. Everything is…fine. Captain Kyōraku and I just need to sort something out."

Jūshirō tried valiantly not to blush as Rukia's gaze flickered between the two captain before a look of slight resignation came over her features. She bowed before closing the door.

As soon as the door closed Jūshirō through Shunsui off of him, the latter grinning triumphantly at his success in finding his alcohol.

"Are you happy now?" Jūshirō groaned.

"My day just got better," Shunsui said offhandedly.

"Get. Out."

Shunsui's laughter could be heard throughout the division.


	9. Scars and the Stories They Tell

**A.N.** Another shorter drabble. Personally, I think it's better to keep them short when I don't have anything else to day; drawing them out would just degrade the quality. Day 9! Wow! As always, enjoy.

* * *

Both Shunsui's and Jūshirō's bodies were littered with scars. They'd gained them over what felt like several lifetimes of war, training accidents, and close calls. Each one told a story, ignited a memory – both good and bad.

The scars on Jūshirō's body starkly contrasted his pale skin. Stabs wound, slashes, bites, scratches, and the scar from when Wonderweiss' arm went through his chest were among the different types of scars visible. Most had faded over time and with the aid of scar-reducing kidō, but some had remained prominent. Among the worst scars on his body was the scar Shunsui had left on him during their bakudō practice at the Academy. Shunsui had used Hōrin to immobilize him, but the incantation had gone wrong, and the tendril had wrapped around his chest and burned into his skin. The pain had been indescribable, and he'd spent three days in the infirmary. Shunsui had been beside himself with guilt, even though Jūshirō had tried to assuage his friend of his guilt – it could have happened to anyone, and it could have been so much worse.

The scars on Shunsui's body virtually blended with the colour of his skin. One of the largest and nastiest scars on his body was on his back, from Starrk's point blank cero blast. It covered most of the surface of his back, and he'd stopped looking at in the mirror long ago. He did not consider himself to be a vain man, but the unsightly scar made him grimace more than any of the others he possessed. When he and Jūshirō had become seated officers they had spent many afternoons practicing their sword work. The reason was twofold: it gave them a chance to spend time together after they'd been placed in separate divisions, and it allowed them to improve their technique. One afternoon during their practice, Shunsui had been distracted by something he'd seen out of the corner of his eye, and the momentary distraction had thrown him off guard, ending in part of Jūshirō's zanpakutō being buried into his flank. It was painful, but the shock quickly numbed that pain; the look of shock on Jūshirō's face would have been comical under other circumstances, but the blood loss had negated that. In the end he'd only spent a few hours in the Fourth division – he was lucky that none of his organs had been damaged. Jūshirō had worn his guilt like a cloak for a week until Shunsui had threatened to stop talking to him unless he got over it.

Whenever someone saw the scar that wrapped itself around Jūshirō's torso, their initial reaction was one of shock. Jūshirō always had to resist the urge to laugh; the scar was ugly but the story behind it wasn't entirely unpleasant. He never told anyone the true story behind it, he'd never discredit Shunsui like that; but every once and a while Shunsui would bring it up and they'd laugh. After all, not all scars were representative of bad memories.

Shunsui's scar blended in with the rest of the ones he had; no one who looked at it would assume he'd been stabbed by his oldest and best friend. Whenever someone spotted it, he'd spin an outrageous tale of being stabbed by Ukitake – a tale that no one believed, but made everyone laugh nonetheless.

Jūshirō and Shunsui had known each other long enough to have been witness to most of the injuries that had marred each other's bodies. However, there was a special acknowledgement for the scars they put on each other. It was a testament to their friendship that they'd been able to cause each other so much discomfort, and still be almost inseparable years later. Neither scar was done with malicious intent, which is what set them apart from the others they'd collected over the years. The scars caused smiles and laughter, instead of tears and nightmares, which was an unusual phenomenon.

They'd put many other scars on each other throughout the years, but none as major as those. It was an occupational hazard, they didn't have the liberty of going easy on each other, doing so wouldn't force either to improve, and improvement was the key to continued existence in the Gotei 13.

Despite that, it didn't prevent either of them from dropping casual hints about the injuries they'd caused when a favour was needed.

Particularly when it concerned paperwork.


	10. Nostalgia and Memoriam

**A.N.** Some of these drabbles start out with incomplete thoughts, and I always kind of hate to work on them because they don't feel as good as the drabbles where I've mapped out the entire thing in my head. I hope they're enjoyable nonetheless. To all my fellow students out there – stay strong! Finals are almost over. Also, please know that I read and appreciate any/all comments, even if I don't reply to all of them always. Thanks for the continued support, enjoy.

* * *

Early into their captaincy, they'd become the last two surviving members of their graduating class. The Academy kept track of the biographical information for all of the students who graduated, and during a trip to see the incoming class they'd gone into the archives, which is when they'd discovered that they were the only two left.

"Wow," Jūshirō murmured.

"I feel old," Shunsui said, only half jokingly.

"You are going a little grey," Jūshirō teased, gesturing to his temples.

Shunsui snorted, "You're one to talk."

They lapsed into silence again as they read through the list of names. They'd been quite popular at school, and many of their classmates had gone onto work in the Gotei 13, although some had gone in alternate directions. Many of the names were familiar, and it was a nostalgic experience for both of them.

"Seems like only yesterday we were seated officers and our entire life was ahead of us," Shunsui remarked after they'd left the archives.

Jūshirō smirked, nudging Shunsui with his elbow. "That's rather dreary Kyōraku. We're not _that_ old. Besides, becoming captains is a marker of prestige – it's just one that usually comes with age."

"None of the pretty ladies are attracted to old men, Ukitake."

Jūshirō gave Shunsui an exasperated look. "Do you really want to me reply to that one?" he asked.

"You're supposed to be the sympathetic one, you know." Shunsui muttered.

Jūshirō laughed, and clasped Shunsui on the shoulder, "I am sympathetic. I just refuse to pander to you."

"Neither will Lisa-chan. I need more subservient friends and subordinates."

Jūshirō quirked an eyebrow, "Maybe the problem isn't with the people around you."

Shunsui made a face, "Don't think that just because you're old, you're also wise. You're just as alone as I am."

"You're right," Jūshirō acknowledged with an incline of his head, "But it doesn't bug me anywhere near as much as it bugs you."

Jūshirō lightly shoved Shunsui into the wall as answer as they walked down the hall. A lot of things had changed in the hundreds of years that had passed since they'd graduated, but the basic atmosphere was still the same. In a way he shared Shunsui's nostalgia, he did feel old when he looked at the fresh young faces of the students in the Academy. He felt even older when he encountered seated officers that he'd taught when they were students.

Both he and Shunsui had instructed classes at the Academy at various points in their careers, but after they'd become captains those opportunities had become less frequent as their responsibilities had increased. Although Shunsui pretended that teaching classes were a great inconvenience for him – and perhaps they were, in that they took away from the time he spent napping – but deep down Jūshirō knew that Shunsui enjoyed teaching as much as he did.

"Why do I feel that now I have to live up to some kind of standard?" Shunsui asked after they'd returned to the Eighth and had settled down for a cup of tea.

Jūshirō shrugged, "It's a strange burden. But I think it's one that we've imposed on ourselves, I highly doubt anyone else knows about this."

Jūshirō waited as Shunsui gathered his thoughts, is finger absently tapping against the side of the tea cup.

"We all went through the same education, the same training…yet we're the last two left."

Jūshirō wasn't quite sure what exactly Shunsui was hinting at, but he understood the general message. It was the same feeling Jūshirō got whenever he attended the funeral of a young Shinigami; especially those who were killed in battle mere months after their graduation.

Jūshirō had been born with a moderate amount of inherent power, but he'd become powerful through hard work and training, most of which had been accomplished at the Academy. Shunsui was different, he'd been incredibly powerful before attending school – he'd been sent there earlier than most because of the potential threat he posed to himself and others. However, even Shunsui had honed his talents and developed his skills at the Academy. Both of them had mastered their skills and gained their individual expertise through dedication and hard work, they weren't special or particularly gifted. There were even some who would tell them that there were still alive through no skill of their own, but by sheer luck.

Shunsui tipped his hat back, looking up at the sky. "My, my, I've become quite nostalgic in my old age, eh Ukitake?"

Jūshirō smiled sadly, "It's heartbreaking to see them die. It won't help to question why we're still here, though. Maybe now we can finally work to change that, as captains."

Shunsui finished the rest of his tea in one large gulp, and Jūshirō vaguely wondered if his friend had developed an immunity to hot liquids from years of drinking warm sake. The tea was no longer dangerously hot, but drinking it in such a matter would likely have brought tears to Jūshirō's eyes.

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around, Ukitake," Shunsui joked. "You're always good in a crisis."

Jūshirō's lips twitched, "I'm glad to hear I've still got some utility."

Shunsui chuckled, "I should go find a quiet spot to nap before Lisa-chan starts to look for me. It would be too easy for her if I just stayed here."

"You could just do the work before she has to force you to do it," Jūshirō said mildly.

"Where's the fun in that?" Shunsui asked with a wink.

Jūshirō rolled his eyes as Shunsui flash stepped away to go find his hiding spot. Luckily enough, Shunsui's vice captain was a good match for him; she didn't let him get away with anything. She'd find him quickly and later into the evening Jūshirō would be regaled with the entire story.

On his way back to his own division, Jūshirō tried to push away all the thoughts about mortality and youth from his mind. Reflection was good in moderation, but it wasn't productive to question his own continued existence. He walked back to the division, and by the time he got there his mind was much clearer, and it put him in a much better mood.

He'd honour the memory of his fallen comrades the best way he knew how: by continuing to live and by fighting for justice. He'd honour their memory by continuing what they had started.


	11. Late Nights at the Fourth Division

**A.N.** I mean…I really tried to get this up on December 11, but it was really just one of those days. Late exams  & weird personal drama, unfortunately I haven't had the chance before now (2:30 AM EST) to write. Because it's so late I'm kind of taking the easy way out of this one, not very original – I'd kept it in my fic toolbox for days like this. As always, enjoy!

* * *

The battle had been rough. Every once and a while, a formidable enemy popped up and caused enough trouble to warrant intervention from the Gotei 13. Very seldom were the captains ever needed, for the most part the seated officers and vice captains were able to take care of most issues. On incredibly rare occasions, Jūshirō and Shunsui were pulled into battles. They were among some of the strongest individuals in the Gotei 13, and it was uncommon for Yamamoto to pull them into active battle – for most occasions that was just an excessive use of power.

This battle had been one of those occasions. They'd fought alongside many other captains, and as usual Kyōraku had made light of the situation. It had been in the middle of Jūshirō berating Kyōraku over his lack of maturity in the situation when the attack had happened.

One moment they'd been talking to each other, and in the next Shunsui had been falling out of the sky. Jūshirō had nearly avoided being hit himself, and he'd had no time to look for Shunsui until after the battle had ended. When Jūshirō had arrived at the Fourth division, the chaos had been overwhelming; which was to be expecting following such a battle. It had taken him a couple of hours to finally get a hold of a member of the Fourth to try and find out Shunsui's condition.

It wasn't good, but he was going to be okay if his body was allowed time to heal. Jūshirō had spent enough time within various medical facilities to understand the majority of the injuries that Shunsui had, and although they sounded serious, they'd both suffered worse in the past.

Nanao was sitting at the bedside when Jūshirō got to the room. As soon as he entered the room her back went rigid, and her composure became one of ultimate professionalism. Jūshirō knew better than to tell her that the professionalism and seriousness wasn't needed around him, especially given the circumstances, it would have been futile. They briefly acknowledged each other before Jūshirō wordlessly took a seat at the other side of Shunsui's bed; he hadn't seen Shunsui that pale in a long time, but his vital signs and breathing were good, which was encouraging. As it progressed late into the evening and into the night Jūshirō tried multiple times to get Nanao to leave the bedside, but it soon became apparent that she had no plans of leaving her captain's side anytime soon.

The next morning when Jūshirō returned to the Fourth division Shunsui was looking much better. He hadn't woken up yet, which was a little concerning, but the nurses he'd spoken to had assured him that it was the body's way of healing. Unlike the previous night, Jūshirō was able to convince Nanao to leave the bedside and go and get something to eat. It was mere moments after Nanao had left that Shunsui groaned softly, and his fingers twitched.

"Kyōraku?" Jūshirō asked softly.

Jūshirō watched Shunsui's eyes flutter open; momentary confusion flashing across his face before he realized where he was.

"Ukitake?" Shunsui's voice was hoarse.

Jūshirō reached out to steady his friend as Shunsui attempted to sit up. Jūshirō could see the exact moment when Shunsui regretted his decision to sit up, the pain that appeared on his face even made Jūshirō wince.

"Yare, yare. That's sore," Shunsui said after he'd finally been propped up with some pillows and was able to relax again.

"It's an impressive slash," Jūshirō confirmed.

Shunsui nodded slowly, before looking around the room and then back to Jūshirō. "Where's my Nanao-chan? I thought she'd be here."

Jūshirō chuckled at Shunsui's pouting, "She's gone to eat. She sat at your bedside for the entire night…but when she comes back we tell her that you woke up right before she got back, and not as soon as she left."

Shunsui inclined his head, "Agreed."

Before they could continue their conversation, one of the nurses who happened to walk by rushed into the room. The look on her face as she glanced between Shunsui and Jūshirō was one of confusion and slight astonishment.

"When did you wake up?" She asked Shunsui before turning her attention to Jūshirō. "You should have called me!" she chided.

Shunsui and Jūshirō both apologized meekly, it had been a long time since someone had chastised them, and it was amusing to them both. The nurse did a quick assessment on Shunsui before disappearing and coming back moment later with Unohana, whose ever-peaceful expression managed to unsettle both Jūshirō and Shunsui. Almost as soon as Unohana had finished talking to them Nanao returned, and Jūshirō found it amazing that her expression went from one of relief, to one of absolute annoyance almost instantaneously. Jūshirō wasn't sure how Shunsui was going to make it up to her, but it was going to be a long and arduous process.

Much to his discontent, Shunsui was held at the Fourth division for another night. Even thought he was chomping at the bit, Jūshirō was certain that Shunsui was partly relived at the prospect of another night's rest; it looked too painful for him to move much anyways.

"I'm sure it won't look so bad once it's healed," Jūshirō assured his friend when Shunsui mentioned the unsightly aspect of such a scar.

"I hope so. I need to stay attractive so that my Nanao-chan doesn't leave me!"

The pillow Nanao threw hit him square in the chest, and Shunsui's answering grin was salacious.

Jūshirō took the ensuing banter as his cue to leave. He'd sat at Shunsui's bedside on a number of occasions, and it was an unspoken rule that he left once he was sure his friend was okay. Shunsui did the same thing to him when injuries or his illness granted him admission to the Fourth; they'd never spoken of it and yet it was something they both understood. They had other responsibilities, and once the threat of imminent harm had passed it was time to go. Jūshirō was just grateful that Shunsui was okay – he could be reckless at times and Jūshirō feared the day when that caught up with him. It would happen eventually, Jūshirō was sure of that. But that day was hopefully far off and out of mind.

When that day did finally come they'd face it. Together.


	12. Unconventional Father Figures

**Y.N.** Day 12, wow. One of these days I will get these fics up before midnight. I was watching The Sound of Music, and some of you will know that movie is about three hours long, and it's the excuse I'm using tonight, haha. This didn't turn out the way I had expected, but I think it works. Enjoy!

* * *

The day of their graduation had been an exciting moment for both of them. Most students were more than ready to move on and do something else after six years of school and training. Both Shunsui and Jūshirō had applied for positions with the Gotei 13; it wasn't as if they'd wanted to go anywhere else, but Yamamoto himself had urged them both to apply regardless.

After they'd finished their finals, a group of them had gone out and gotten completely drunk. Even Jūshirō, who tended to be quite the conservative drinker, had to be practically carried home at the end of the night. The following morning had been a struggle for them both, and even Shunsui had naively sworn to never drink again. The next couple of days after that had been busy filled with preparing to leave the Academy; both Jūshirō and Shunsui had lived there practically year-round, and it was a bittersweet process for the both of them.

The day of their actual graduation was an oddly calm one. The commencement was taking place in the afternoon, so they had the morning to get ready and finish any last-minute packing. They'd helped each other get ready, although there hadn't been much to prepare. The ceremony itself had seemed to drag on, there had been a palpable excitement and anxiety that seemed to make the air electric. The excitement seemed to build to a climax, and when the commencement finally ended there were shouts of joy and embraces all around. The next couple of hours had been a flurry of celebration and excitement, which is why it was so strange when Yamamoto pulled Shunsui and Jūshirō aside in the middle of the party.

They followed him down the hall for a little bit, before he opened the door to one of the empty classrooms and ushered them in. Jūshirō and Shunsui had a brief moment to exchange confused looks, but no time to talk as they waited for the Yamamoto to speak.

Yamamoto watched them for a brief moment before laughing roughly, "You two look like the scared schoolboys that walked through the front doors six years ago."

The tension in the room seemed to dissipate instantaneously, and Shunsui scratched the back of his head. "Why'd you pull us out of the party, Yama-jii?"

Startling both Jūshirō and Shunsui, Yamamoto approached them both and put a hand on each of their shoulders. The look he gave them was serious, and Jūshirō felt the hair on the back of his neck rise from trepidation. Then, Yamamoto smiled and squeezed their shoulders.

"You both are testaments to this Academy," Yamamoto said. "You'll make excellent additions to the Gotei 13. I'm proud of both of you."

Shunsui felt his eyebrows hit his hairline, and in his periphery he could see that Jūshirō was just as shocked as he was. Yamamoto was not a cruel man, but he was definitely rough around the edges. His approval was unexpected and it meant the world to both of them.

* * *

They became captains around the same time. The need for more captains had arisen after a particularly horrible war that had resulted in the death of many Shinigami, which had caused unfortunate opportunity. Both Jūshirō and Shunsui had achieved bankai decades prior as vice captains, and they had reached their maximum potential in their current positions.

The proficiency test had been an immensely nerve-wracking experience for both them. Although they both were capable of bankai, it wasn't something that they normally practiced, and to show their bankai in front of Yamamoto and two other captains was intimidating.

Of course, the test had gone well for the both of them. It was a weirdly intimate experience; all bankai was individualized, and demonstrating it in front of others was frightening initially. More terrifying was the silence that had descended after each exam had concluded; both Jūshirō and Shunsui had held their breath as they waited for the verdict. Before they could take in what had happened they both had captain's haoris on their shoulders and were being inducted as captains.

After all of the captains had vacated the first division, Jūshirō and Shunsui were left alone with Yamamoto, still slightly dazed from the events of the day. They waited expectantly to be dismissed, and although both tried to control themselves, there was a mixture of anxiety, excitement, and fear emanating from them both. Shunsui was pulled from his thoughts when Yamamoto approached him and straightened out his haori before doing the same to Jūshirō. The head captain appraised them both before he finally spoke.

"I'm sure the meaning of these haoris are not lost on either of you. Treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve. They will be a heavy weight upon your shoulders – be just, and do good. Be the men that I am proud of."

There was a moment of silence before Shunsui sighed loudly, "Yare yare. This is the second time you've told us that Yama-jii. You're going soft in your old age."

Before Shunsui could react Yamamoto had hit Shunsui in the thigh with his staff, eliciting a yelp from the new captain of the Eighth division. As Shunsui rubbed the spot on his thigh, Jūshirō bit his lip in an attempt not to laugh.

"Do you spank all of your captains, Yama-jii?" Shunsui asked.

Yamamoto arched an eyebrow, "Don't tempt me boy."

The look of surprise on Shunsui's face was genuine, which caused Jūshirō to burst out into laughter outright.

Yamamoto huffed, before waving them away. "Go on then. You've got divisions to run now."

Shunsui and Jūshirō bowed and said a quick farewell before exiting the First division. Despite how nonchalant Shunsui acted, Jūshirō knew that he was as affected by Yamamoto's words as Jūshirō was. Yamamoto was like a father to both of them, and to earn his pride was an incredible honour, and not one that was very common.

Throughout his lifetime, Yamamoto told them only a few more times how proud of them he was. For the most part it was unspoken; communicated and acknowledged through actions rather than words. It was never something that either took for granted, even as they became older, more prestigious, and more respected by members of the Gotei 13. There was nothing that could compare to approval from a father.

Which is what made his death so devastating for the both of them, and what had renewed their conviction to make him proud, and live up to the men Yamamoto had believed them to be.


	13. The Things That Haunt Us

**A.N.** Happy day 13 everyone! We're officially a little over half-way, which is a very exciting feeling. Thanks for all the continued love and support! I hope everyone isn't feeling too run down, December can be a stressful month. Enjoy!

* * *

It wasn't entirely uncommon for Jūshirō to go back to his quarters at the end of a long day and find Shunsui asleep in his bed. Usually he was drunk, and Jūshirō allowed himself a moment of exasperation before he cleaned up the sake bottle and cups, and ensured that a bucket and some water was left at the bedside before spending the night in one of the guest rooms. The next morning, Jūshirō would drag Shunsui from the bed and ensure he was in the bath, cook something greasy, and they would eat breakfast together in relative silence.

In the beginning, Jūshirō had questioned Shunsui about the strange occurrence, but quickly gave up when it became apparent that he wasn't going to get a straight answer from his best friend. So he'd kept track of dates and did some digging, and had discovered that they weren't as random as Jūshirō had assumed.

The worst night was the anniversary of Lisa Yadōmaru's hollowfication. On those nights Jūshirō rarely slept, too worried that Shunsui would literally drink himself to death, or choke on his own vomit. Even if he wasn't worried about Shunsui dying during the night there would be no way he could get any worthwhile sleep, one would imagine that with that much alcohol in his system Shunsui's sleep would be dreamless. Unfortunately, that was rarely the case. More often than not, Shunsui spent the night tossing and turning, drenched with sweat, and switching from garbled mumbles to violent shouting. To pass the time, Jūshirō would often take a damp cloth and wipe the sweat from Shunsui's brow; the cool cloth seemed to have a soothing effect and it would buy a few moments of silence.

"Why do you do this to yourself, my friend?" Jūshirō had asked quietly one night, well aware he wouldn't receive an answer from the unconscious captain.

It broke Jūshirō's heart to see his friend in such a state. A century had passed since the creation of the Visoreds, yet Shunsui still carried an immense guilt about the events of that day. Whenever Jūshirō tried to bring the topic up when they were both sober, Shunsui would brush it off and find a way to change the subject. It was incredibly frustrating, to watch Shunsui carry around this guilt – even Nanao had noticed and had come to speak with Jūshirō on a few occasions about the circumstance, but there was little he could offer in terms of assurance.

"You look terrible," Jūshirō said as Shunsui emerged from the bath one morning.

"My head hurts," Shunsui pouted.

Jūshirō smirked, "I should think so. Grab a plate and eat as much as you like, I'm not too hungry this morning."

"Oh?" Shunsui queried, arching an eyebrow. "Are you not feeling well?"

Jūshirō made a noncommittal sound, "I guess watching my friend drink himself into an early grave has negatively affected my appetite."

"Yare, yare, Ukitake," Shunsui said, leaning back from his plate. "It's a bit early to be hitting below the belt, don't you think?"

"A good a time as any," Jūshirō replied lightly.

Shunsui narrowed his eyes, "Are you and my Nanao-chan in cahoots? Usually she's the one whose concerned about my drinking."

"She's worried about you too, yes."

Shunsui ran a hand through his damp hair, the first signs of frustration and discomfort beginning to show in his mannerisms.

"Listen, Ukitake-"

Jūshirō put a hand up to silence his friend, "I don't need an explanation – I don't _want_ an explanation. We've all got our demons, and we've got more than most, but how long are you going to torture yourself about this? It's not going to change anything, Kyōraku."

Shunsui massaged his temples violently, and when he looked again at Jūshirō there was a desperation in his eyes that was frightening.

"I can see their faces every time I close my eyes. It's not just Lisa-chan…it's all of them, Ukitake. What kind of captain can't protect him subordinates?"

Jūshirō refused to flinch at the last comment, although it was his first instinct. Despite his best attempts, he must have shown some reaction because Shunsui suddenly looked chastised.

"Ukitake I didn't mean…I was just saying-"

Jūshirō smiled sadly, "I know. It's okay – I feel exactly the same way you do. Kaien, Miyako, Lisa…it's a long list. It's the nature of the job, just the same as the fact that new ones have come to replace them. We have to try out best for those who are with us, just as we did those who came before them."

Shunsui sighed heavily, "It's such a heavy burden."

"It's one we share, Kyōraku. Or at least, it could be if you would share it with me. You and I both know that Yadōmaru-san would tolerate none of this self-loathing behaviour."

Shunsui made a sound of agreement, before laughing quietly. "No, and I should be grateful – Nanao-chan doesn't hit me as hard as Lisa-chan used to, even if she does use encyclopaedias."

Jūshirō chuckled, "You've got no one to blame for that but yourself."

"It's surprising how fast you can go from sympathetic to apathetic, Ukitake," Shunsui murmured.

Jūshirō grinned, but said nothing in response. Instead, his gestured to Shunsui's plate, still half-full of food.

"Eat. I'm sure Ise-san knows exactly where you are; if you don't eat now you might not get the chance before lunch."

Shunsui rolled his eyes good-naturedly but ate the food nonetheless. Jūshirō was right, he'd barely swallowed the last mouthful when Nanao showed up at Ugendō. Shunsui knew better than to put up a fight, he'd find something later to tease Nanao about.

As he cleaned up the kitchen, Jūshirō felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was by no means a complete solution to the situation but it was definitely a start. He was sure that there would still be plenty of nights where he had to drag Shunsui from the bars, but hopefully there would be a decrease in the amount of self-destruction in Shunsui's drinking.

When he finally got to his desk, Jūshirō was surprised to see a note waiting on his desk. His confusion turned to amusement as he read the note, just two words on the card:

 _Thank you._


	14. Revelations of the Supernatural Variety

**A.N.** Happy day 14! 24 hours from now I'll be done exams and be free for nearly a month – to all those writing exams: stay strong! The end is in sight! I'd originally planned this to be a lot longer but I think maybe I'll just make it into two parts, or it would be too long. Hopefully that makes some sense, enjoy!

* * *

When Wonderweiss had thrust his arm through Ukitake's chest, Shunsui's heart had stopped beating. The look of shock on Jūshirō's face had been genuine, and time had seemed to stand still for a moment, before Wonderweiss had moaned and Shunsui had come back to his senses. He'd acted instinctually, flash stepping behind Wonderweiss and raising his arm to prepare to strike Wonderweiss out of the sky. The blood pounding in his ears had been the only thing he could hear, the rest of his senses had become numb as he'd zeroed in on his target.

Which is why he hadn't noticed Starrk's approach until the gun was pressed against the centre of his back.

The next thing he remembered was Lisa-chan's approach. For a moment, he thought for sure that he had died, or was dreaming – how else could Lisa-chan be there? It had been a small respite to see his former lieutenant, but as soon as she'd gone all of his attention had become focused again on Ukitake. He'd watched his best friend impaled through the chest; Ukitake's health was fragile at the best of times. There was no way that wound hadn't damaged his lungs. As the thoughts whirled through his mind Shunsui found his hope of Ukitake's survival begin to dwindle, he couldn't sense Jūshirō's spiritual pressure at all. It was either incredibly low, or entirely non-existent, which didn't provide any comfort.

The second round with Starrk had been one of attrition. He'd seen what the Espada could do, and the battle needed to be over so medical aid could be given to Ukitake and the undoubtedly many others that needed it.

When the battle was over Shunsui found himself whisked away to the Fourth, and despite his protests, he was held as a patient. His wounds were low priority, through, in the triage, so he spent his time waiting for treatment pacing the at Ugendō. Ukitake had already been in surgery buy the time he got there, so he'd decided to go and pack his friend and overnight bag to make his stay more comfortable. By the time he got back to the Fourth, Ukitake was out of surgery but wasn't allowed any visitor. It didn't matter, Shunsui spent the next couple of hours having his own wounds tended to, the scar from the cero on his back had required quite extensive treatment.

Later on, when it was permitted, he sat at Ukitake's bedside. His skin colour virtually matched his hair, which was ghastly, but it was the bandages that wrapped around most of his chest and torso that worried Shunsui the most. Shunsui knew that the Twelfth division was capable of many things, but they must have had to regenerate at least parts of both of Ukitake's lungs; and the battle had only been over for a few hours. He was grateful nonetheless, because he'd been assured that Ukitake would wake up, but something didn't sit right in his mind, and he spent the night in an uneasy state.

Ukitake woke up three days after the battle, and Shunsui was glad to see that he seemed to be acting like his normal self within a few hours. It was hard to discern how much his injuries were truly bugging him, Ukitake spent a lot of time at the Fourth division and had developed a high pain tolerance.

"You seem to be breathing well," Shunsui said a few hours after Ukitake had woken.

Jūshirō inclined his head, "Yes, I'm quite surprised as well."

"Considering how badly they must have been damaged," Shunsui continued.

Jūshirō's brows furrowed, "I don't understand. What are you trying to say, Kyōraku?"

"I'm not sure," Shunsui said after a moment. "Something just isn't sitting right when I think about the events of the past couple of days. I mean, no offense Ukitake but you should have died three days ago."

"People have been telling me that I should be dead my whole life, Kyōraku. I guess I'm just stubborn."

Shunsui shrugged, "I guess."

Ukitake was released from the Fourth division three days later. He was still a little too pale for Shunsui's liking, and a bit unsteady on his feet, but other than that there was no reason to keep him confined to bed. He'd visited Ukitake at Ugendō until his friend was able to resume his duties in his division, and then they'd gone back to their normal schedule – or lack thereof – for seeing each other.

That was, until Ukitake had showed up at his door in the middle of the night about a month after the attack.

Shunsui had initially been confused when he'd heard someone knocking. He hadn't been sleeping, but it was still strange that someone would drop by to visit him at that time of the night. It was even stranger when he realized it was Ukitake; normally his friend would just let himself in, regardless of the time.

"Ukitake?" Shunsui asked when he opened the door.

Jūshirō's face was grim. "We need to talk…or rather, I need to tell you something," he said as he stepped past Shunsui into his home.

Although confused, Shunsui boiled water for some tea for his friend – and some sake for himself – and brought them out to the back porch. He said nothing as he took a seat next to Ukitake, and they sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Shunsui couldn't remember the last time Ukitake had been so tense, his spine was liable to break if he didn't relax his posture.

"Please le me say everything I need to. Don't interrupt. I haven't told anything this in centuries, and I had been hoping to avoid it but I'm not sure for how much longer this can remain a secret."

Shunsui frowned as his own levels of apprehension began to rise. He couldn't imagine what could be so serious as to garner this type of behaviour from Ukitake.

When Ukitake did begin to speak, the words seemed to pour out of his mouth at an alarming speed. Shunsui could hardly keep up at Jūshirō explained the history of his illness, a one-eyes God called Mimihagi-sama, and the kamikake ritual. The majority of it didn't make sense to him, Shunsui had never heard of such a God, and he'd certainly never heard of one that would extend life in exchange for taking it at a later point. However, he remained true to his word and didn't interrupt. By the time he was done, Ukitake seemed to have exhausted himself from the explanation, and Shunsui could sympathize about the heavy burden something like that would be to carry.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Shunsui whistled, tipping his head sideways to look at his fellow captain.

"Wow. I have to admit I wasn't expecting anything like that. Who else knows about this?"

"Genryūsai-sensei knows, you two are the only ones within the Gotei 13 who know about this."

Shunsui took a long drink of his sake, buying himself a moment of time before he had to say anything else. In truth he was still processing the information. Eve though the likelihood of needing such an ability was rare, it still meant that when he did use it, Ukitake would die. The thought made it hard to swallow; Ukitake's allegiance to the Gotei 13 was well-known, and he probably wouldn't hesitate when the time came.

Shunsui wrapped an arm around Ukitake's shoulders before pouring some sake into his friend's now empty tea cup. When Jūshirō gave him a questioning look, Shunsui just grinned.

"Sounds to me like you're damned either way, what's one drink going to hurt?"

Jūshirō shook his head and laughed quietly, but took a sip nonetheless. They spent a good portion of the night sitting out on the porch, sometimes reminiscing and other times remaining quiet. When the first hint of light began to rise on the sky Ukitake rose, and clasped Shunsui on the shoulder when he turned to walk away.

"Thank you," Jūshirō said quietly so as not to disrupt the peaceful silence too much.

Shunsui looked up, but when he would have said something in reply Jūshirō tipped his hat down over his eyes.

"The company was enough," Jūshirō said, before walking back into Shunsui's home, presumably to put away the cup and teapot.

Shunsui smiled softly, and he lay back on the porch and watched the stars long after Jūshirō had gone, dozing intermittently. The prospect of Jūshirō's death weighed heavily on his mind, but in the end it was their duty as captains of the Gotei 13. One that many before them had made, and one that they would fulfill bravely when the time came.


	15. Acquired Sleep Patterns

**A.N.** Another shorter drabble. This is another one that was borne out of an incomplete thought; I would love to have let this idea brew for a couple of days, but I had nothing else to right about. On the bright side – I've finished exams! Thank God for the small victories. Thanks for all the continued support, enjoy.

* * *

Shunsui could fall asleep anywhere. Although during the years of his captaincy he'd become more prone to sleep on his back in the shade during the afternoon, in the Academy he'd been infamous for the various different sleeping positions he'd been found in. Putting your head down on the desk was a serious offense, so he'd learned to fall asleep sitting up, and at a quick glance it was hard to tell he was asleep. It was a skill that was particularly useful during war, given a vaguely horizontal surface Shunsui could be asleep in seconds. His age was catching up with him, however, and he found that the longer he slept in awkward positions, the stiffer and sorer he was when he woke up. It was one of the many aspects Nanao mocked him about when he was being a nuisance, and it was one of the easiest ways to shut him up.

Jūshirō on the other hand, could sleep through anything. It was debated as to whether this was a result of chronic illness that caused general fatigue, or whether it was just a personality trait. During his career at the Academy, Jūshirō had slept through an emergency drill and had caused quite an uproar when three people had burst into his dorm room expecting the worst, only to find him fast asleep. This was also a skill that was useful during war. Many woke up from fitful nights of sleep, and went through all sorts of measures to wake themselves up. Very rarely did Jūshirō have a dissatisfactory night of sleep, unless there were extraordinary circumstances. It had taken hundreds of years for him to train his body to wake up at the necessary time, and it had taken years of being late to a lot of things for him to get it right.

The people around them didn't know whether to laugh or cry at such an opposite similarity that the two possessed. Oddly enough, when asked Jūshirō would say that he envied Shunsui's ability to fall asleep almost anywhere, because his near-constant state of pain or discomfort made it hard to fall asleep, even if he did sleep for most of the night once he did fall asleep.

Just the same, Shunsui envied Jūshirō's ability to sleep through anything. Although he could fall asleep quickly, he woke at the smallest sound. In his everyday life, Shunsui spent much of his time paying attention to the small details around him; always watching and always listening. It was irony that this trait had come back to haunt him during his sleep. There were plenty of times when he was jolted awake in the middle of the night that frustration more than anything prevented him from getting back to sleep and staying that way.

Despite their differences, they both looked similar when they slept. Shunsui spent a lot of his time sleeping, but seeing Jūshirō with him was a rare sight, but a pleasing one nonetheless. Nanao have been privy to that sight on a few occasions, and usually it meant that they were up to something. A couple of days before Rukia Kuchiki's scheduled execution, Nanao had gone to her captain's office, but before she could storm in and begin to scold him, she spotted them. They were both on the floor in front of the desk, Ukitake was sitting against the desk and Shunsui laying down with his head on Ukitake's thigh. All the frustration drained out of her as she watched them, and she rolled her eyes before sliding the door closed again and dealing with the problem herself.

Later, when she'd explained what had happened to Rangiku, she'd ironically explained how much younger they both looked when they slept. Her captain spent a lot of his time sleeping, but when she'd found him sleeping with Ukitake he'd looked different. It was enough to joke that they were soulmates when it was for the purpose of selling calendars of trading cards, but whenever Nanao was confronted with certain aspects of their relationship it made her wonder how much truth there was to those words. Her captain was certainly happier when Ukitake was around, and he'd looked like he was getting a better quality of sleep with Ukitake than he did while alone.

It made Nanao happy to know that they had each other, and that they complemented each other in such ways. Without Ukitake, Nanao feared that her captain would be a very different man, and she was quite fond of the man that she knew.


	16. Side Effects and Concerned Friends

**A.N.** You'd think that if I had the entire day to do whatever I wanted that I would have been able to get this up before midnight, but apparently not. It's not that I didn't want to get it done, it's more like I search "ShunUki" in Tumblr and then get distracted for hours. That and I'm still trying to finish my Christmas shopping and write cards and be festive. It's a better type of busy than what I experience during school though! Day 16, wow! Enjoy!

* * *

It wasn't hard to tell, at first glance, that Jūshirō Ukitake had quite an emaciated appearance. His chronic illness was common knowledge, and most attributed his slight figure to his illness. At the Academy, however, Shunsui and Jūshirō had been about the same size, at least, they had been in their first year. As the years had progressed they'd both gained significant muscle mass but remained lean, as was the case with most Shinigami. However, even before they'd left the Academy Shunsui had noticed that Jūshirō was underweight for his height and age.

It wasn't that he didn't eat – Jūshirō had quite the appetite and the sweet tooth; he just never seemed to gain weight. He'd been told by multiple doctors that his lack of weight gain was due to the increased energy needed for metabolism that his body required to atone for the disease progression in his body. As a result, even though they were both equal in strength, Shunsui was noticeably larger than his best friend.

From his outward appearance, it was hard to tell how thin Jushiro was. His shihakushō and captain's haori hid the true state of his body, and only those who spent a lot of time around him could tell when there were subtle changes in his appearance. It was especially bad after a sever bout of his illness, and it wasn't uncommon for Jūshirō to loose 10 lbs in under a week in the Fourth. Which Shunsui couldn't really blame Jūshirō for; the amount of pain that Jushiro tended to be in, mixed with the fading between consciousness and unconsciousness was not conducive to eating. That didn't make it any less painful for Shunsui when he'd wrap an arm around Jushiro to support him and be able to feel his ribs beneath his clothing.

Despite everything, Shunsui would never say that Jūshirō was weak by any means. His body seemed to have adapted to a different normal of functioning, and if he didn't have any flare-up of his illness, Jūshirō could be an incredibly destructive force.

Jūshirō also never seemed perturbed by his physical appearance. Shunsui had – on multiple occasions – casually mentioned his concerns over Jūshirō's physical state; on every occasions Jūshirō's had seemed amused and had brushed away any comments.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Jūshirō would say with a laugh, before going back to what he'd been doing.

Although Jūshirō wasn't a physically imposing captain, he'd gained the respect of virtually the entire Gotei 13. It was a difficult task to find someone who had anything negative to say about him – he'd become renowned for his generosity, kindness, and wisdom.

Even though Jūshirō himself never seemed too concerned about his weight, Shunsui still found himself ordering extra for his friend whenever he could. Apart from Unohana, Shunsui was one of the only people who ever saw Jūshirō at his worst, and his illness was an undeniable aspect of life, so Shunsui always tried to make sure Jūshirō was at his healthiest and had enough energy to combat an attack. Particularly in the winter, when the cold affected everyone's immune systems and Jūshirō was at his worst.

"This is a lot of food," Jūshirō said one night as they shared dinner at Ugendō.

Shunsui made a noncommittal sound, "It's not that much."

Jūshirō arched an eyebrow, "We never eat this much food. This is at least two meal's worth of food."

"I'm sure we can finish it."

Jūshirō laughed in a hard burst, "Not likely. Unless you plan on either throwing up, or passing out."

"You should eat more," Shunsui murmured.

Jūshirō gave Shunsui and appraising look before setting his utensils down and folding his arms on top of the table, waiting expectantly.

Shunsui sighed and gave his friend a level stare. "You haven't put all the weight you lost in the Fourth back on yet. I'm just trying to…speed the process along."

Jūshirō's gaze softened, and he smiled softly. "You sound just like captain Unohana. I'm trying Shunsui, but it's not easy. Besides it's more quality than it is quantity. _You_ couldn't even eat all this food in one sitting."

Shunsui's expression depicted exactly how he felt about the news, but he said nothing. Jushiro knew it was hard on those around him – particularly Shunsui – to have to watch him suffer through the varying aspects of his illness, and he tried his best to ease that pain. It was hard; Shunsui could read him like a book, which was both a blessing and a curse. He did try to get enough sleep and keep his weight up, but when he wasn't feeling well he rarely had the energy to do anything. He tried not to let it dampen his spirit though, keeping positive strengthened both himself and those around him. He was grateful for all the effort and help Shunsui put into him. It was hard to imagine he would have survived this long without his best friend carrying him (sometimes literally) through some of the worst bouts of his illness.

"Fair enough," Shunsui conceded. "But I did pick up some ohagi for the both of us, but I understand if you're too full…"

Jūshirō threw his head back and laughed, Shunsui knew him too well.

"There's no such thing as 'too full' for ohagi Kyōraku, you know that."

Jūshirō relished the playful grin on Shunsui's face as his friend went to go and get the sweets. He couldn't always fulfill Shunsui's want for him to eat and put on weight, but if anyone had a good chance of fattening Jūshirō up, it was his best friend.


	17. Pranks of the Shinigami Variety

**A.N.** Saw a picture today of Jūshirō photo shopped to have black hair. Which inspired an entire fic. Ukitake does look quite handsome with black hair, but I think I still prefer him with white hair, he looks friendlier that way. High five for day 17! Thanks for all the continued support!

* * *

A week before Shunsui and Jūshirō began their first jobs in the Gotei 13, Shunsui swapped Jūshirō's regular shampoo with one laced with black hair dye. When Jūshirō had stepped out of the bath and had caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror he'd frozen and had stared at the mirror uncomprehendingly until he'd realized what had happened. He hadn't known whether to laugh or cry as he'd dried off and redressed. He'd lost his towels in the process; the white towels were now streaked black.

When he emerged from the bath Shunsui was waiting for him, his grin almost too wide for his face. Shunsui had been unable to contain his laughter, doubling over and nearly falling out of the chair he'd been sitting in.

"Really? Hair dye in my shampoo? Will you ever grow up?"

Shunsui put a hand on his chest, calming down enough to let out an appreciative whistle.

"What do you mean? You look fantastic! I just wanted to see what you'd look like if your illness hadn't take all the colour out of your hair. And let me tell you-"

Jūshirō rolled his eyes, "All right, all right. Enough-"

"The girls would be throwing themselves at your feet-"

"Kyōraku…"

"You'd be a very busy man-"

"Stop."

"You think you're tired now? Can you even imag-"

"Shunsui!" Jūshirō shouted, exasperated.

Shunsui laughed, "Oh come on, Ukitake! It's just a joke. Besides, now you can start your career off as a shinigami in the Gotei 13 without looking like Yama-jii."

"Oh you're so _funny,_ " Jūshirō remarked, throwing a pillow at his best friend as emphasis with his last word.

"It really doesn't look that bad," Shunsui said when Jūshirō had settled down. "You should keep it dyed, it matches your eyebrows this way."

Jūshirō made a face, "That's a lot of work. Besides, it's horrible for your hair to keep exposing it to all those chemicals. The white hair isn't so bad really once you get used to it."

Shunsui huffed, "Fair enough. You're probably going to look young forever anyways, the white hair will let people know that you've not just escaped the nursery."

"You were headed towards compliment and then took a very hard left turn, Kyōraku."

Shunsui grinned, "You look very handsome," he said teasingly.

"Thank you," Jūshirō said, his voice also laced with amusement.

Jūshirō's new hair colour earned him some strange looks from the people who knew him, although, they quickly figured out that it was one of Kyōraku's pranks. It wasn't an issue at his new division; most of the people had never met him before, even if they had heard of him. Shunsui was right – his hair matched his eyebrows, and that was enough to offset any suspicion that anyone felt.

For a few weeks anyways.

He hadn't realized how concerned anyone had become until his captain had called him into his office to speak with Jūshirō. His captain had looked so worried that Jūshirō had thought he'd done something wrong, or that something had happened to his family that he hadn't heard about. He'd prepared himself for the worst, so when his captain told Jūshirō that he was concerned about the amount of things Jūshirō was taking on the division, and that the stress might be too much with him, Jūshirō felt his eyebrows hit his hairline.

"Jūshirō," his captain had said, "Your hair is turning white, son."

Jūshirō felt himself blush right to his toes, and he swore in that moment that he was going to kill his best friend the next time he saw him. Explaining to his captain the truth had been awkward, but at the end his captain had laughed and clapped him over the shoulder. When he was dismissed he tried to keep his head down, but word spread fast through the division and by the end of the day he couldn't walk down the hallway without being called out to or being snickered at.

When the work day finished he had all but flash stepped to Shunsui's barracks, barely managing to act like the dignified officer that he was supposed to be.

"Ukitake?" Shunsui questioned when Jūshirō burst into his room.

"Captain thinks the stress of my job is causing my hair to turn white," Jūshirō ground out.

Shunsui's eyes went wide before he cracked up, throwing his head back with laughter.

"You're kidding!"

Jūshirō crossed his arms in front of his chest, "No I'm not. Now let's go."

"What? Go where?"

"To the barber shop so that I can get my hair dyed back to white. I got enough teasing from the division this afternoon – I'm not going through that everyday until my hair is long enough to cut out the colour."

Shunsui laughed softly again before stretching out and getting to his feet. "Yare, yare. If it's going to be such an issue, then I guess we should probably get going."

With his white hair restored Jūshirō had to endure some good-natured teasing at the division the next day, but it quickly became old news. He'd been surprised to receive some compliments on the colour, and was pleased that people didn't seem to treat him differently after they learned the story behind his mysterious hair colour.

In the end, Jūshirō managed to get Shunsui back for the stunt. In their second year at the Academy Shunsui had discovered that he had a minor allergy to talc powder; it wasn't severe enough to do any real damage, but he did break out into hives that lasted for several days. Using that knowledge to his advantage, Jūshirō poured some into his shihakushō. The result had been better than Jūshirō could have predicted, not only had Shunsui spent the entire day itching but he'd managed to get some of the powder onto his face while dressing which had caused hives to develop on his face as well.

When Shunsui had finally tracked him down, the look he gave Jūshirō was murderous. Jūshirō could sympathize, he knew exactly what it was like to spend days in constant discomfort, but he still laughed all the same. When the hives disappeared Shunsui was finally able to see the humour in the situation, and the two agreed to a truce.

For the time being, anyways.


	18. Even the Best Grown Old

**A.N.** Late post for Day 18. I didn't factor in that going out to dinner would mean that my time to write would be severely reduced – winter break is already wrecking my brain. A little bit of angst and fluff today, enjoy!

P.S. I don't know why, but there were two chapters that I posted but for whatever reason never went through. Those have been added to the story, if you want to read them they were called _Revelations of the Supernatural Variety_ and _Side Effects and Concerned Friends_

* * *

The first time Shunsui began to notice his hair going grey was shortly after he'd been promoted to Head Captain. Although not a vain man by any means, the sight had caused him distress. Shinigami aged differently than the living did, but they still aged nonetheless. Shunsui had stopped counting birthdays long ago, he'd never pass up the opportunity to party, but counting the years had become more depressing then celebratory long ago. Even though he hadn't noticed his own physical aging, he had noticed it in those around him. Nanao, Ichigo, and many others had grown from children to men and women in what seemed like the blink of an eye, but when the grey appeared at his temples he was confronted with the reality of how old he really was.

Naturally he had turned to Jūshirō, and he'd dropped by Ugendō late one evening; long after most had finished the work day, but very soon after he'd finished his own.

He let himself in. There was no reason to bother knocking, it was a formality that was wasted on their centuries of friendship. Shunsui could hear the bath running, so he busied himself with making tea, and even found it within him to wash the few plates that had been left in the sink. He didn't doubt that Ukitake could afford to hire servants for the estate, he just preferred not to.

Shunsui set the tea down on one of the table near the heater. The weather was beginning to shift from late autumn into winter, and although it wasn't overly cold out yet, Ukitake seldom took chances when it came to his health. He sat back against the wall next to the heater, absently sipping his tea as he listened to the near-silence inside Ugendō. The First division was always loud, always busy, and sitting in the silence brought peace to Shunsui the likes of which he hadn't experienced in what seemed like forever.

Shunsui was awoken by the sound of Ukitake sitting down next to him against the wall. Jūshirō's long white hair was still mostly damp, and water dripped off the ends onto his clothes, being soaked into the fabric.

"I fell asleep," Shunsui noted lamely.

Jūshirō nodded slowly, but said nothing as he filled his tea cup and took a small sip.

"I feel old, Ukitake."

Jūshirō chuckled softly, "We are old, Kyōraku."

"We've been old for hundreds of years, but I've never felt old before."

Jūshirō turned his head to look at his friend appreciatively, absently reaching up and touching the grey hairs on Shunsui's temple.

"You know," Jūshirō started, "having grey hair is really not as bad as it sounds."

Shunsui smirked, "I don't think I could pull it off the same as you can."

Jūshirō shrugged. "I don't know – I've heard that some women enjoy men who have a touch of grey in their hair. It's a sign of maturity and experience."

Shunsui smiled ruefully before letting his head drop back against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm so tired," he said hoarsely.

"You've lost weight," Jūshirō acknowledged.

"No time to eat," Shunsui mumbled.

Jūshirō frowned, "Genryūsai-sensei gave this job to you because he knew you could handle it, Kyōraku. Things will balance and you'll find how to best manage these responsibilities, but even now you have to find some time to yourself."

"Yama-jii should have given the job to you...you could do this better than I can."

Jūshirō arched an eyebrow and make a sound of disagreement. "We both know why Genryūsai didn't chose me for the job-"

"I could die too, you know," Shunsui interrupted. "There are no guarantees that I'll survive this war."

Jūshirō elbowed Shunsui lightly. "Don't speak like that, Kyōraku. Do you remember when we first became captains? We both thought we were in over our heads, and now look at us. It will come."

Shunsui tilted his head towards Jūshirō and opened his eyes. Ukitake's face was passive…neutral. His best friend had always had a knack for listening to whatever problems he had but in an impersonal way, without letting emotion cloud his judgment.

"You really think women will find the grey attractive?"

Jūshirō laughed in a loud, short burst. " _Some_ women, yes."

Shunsui nodded slowly before closing his eyes again. Within moments, Shunsui's head had come to rest on Jūshirō's shoulder, making the sickly captain smile. Shunsui had a habit of disguising his true concerns within mediocre concerns. Jūshirō had no doubt that a small part of Shunsui was genuinely concerned about no longer being attractive to women – not that he had many women throwing themselves at him now – but it definitely wasn't his main concern. Jūshirō was glad that Shunsui had come to speak to him. He'd noticed that something was wrong with his friend days ago, but any time they had to spare for each other was limited, and Shunsui looked so tired that Jūshirō wanted his friend to rest whenever he could.

Shunsui's deep breathing told Jūshirō that Shunsui had indeed fallen asleep on his shoulder, but he didn't mind. The heater made the space comfortable, and there was still some tea left in the pot for him. Sooner than he would like, Jūshirō would have to wake Shunsui up, and their moment of peace would be broken. However, that time was still yet to come, and until then Jūshirō intended to enjoy the peace.


	19. The Morning After

**A.N.** A little bit of a longer fic for day 19. I think this might be the longest one I've written. It is crack? Is it fluff? No one really knows, but it made be laugh when I was writing it so I hope it makes you laugh when reading it. Enjoy!

* * *

Consciousness came slowly to Jūshirō. He didn't need to open his eyes to determine that it was late in the morning, the sunlight on his closed eyelids told him all he needed to know. He pulled the covers higher to his chin, it wasn't often that he got to sleep in, and he couldn't think of any pressing matters that would mandate his getting out of bed right away. His mind was still foggy with sleep and he preferred to rest and let himself fully awaken in his own time. He'd almost fallen back asleep when he heard soft snoring. Jūshirō froze as he listened to the sound; it was impossible to tell whether the source of the snores was male or female, although, it was more likely to be the former. He wracked his brain trying to remember what had happened the night before, but most of the previous night was blank and he certainly didn't remember meeting anyone he'd been interested in taking to bed.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he knew he was just going to have to bite the bullet and open his eyes. There was no other way that he was going to find out who was in the bed with him. When he opened his eyes he immediately relaxed slightly, at least he was at Ugendō – the familiarity comforted him. Steeling himself, he slowly turned his head to the source of the snoring –

"Kyōraku?"

Shunsui did nothing when his name was called, not that Jūshirō had really expected him to react. It took more than that to wake him up.

Jūshirō pushed his palms into his eyes. Why couldn't he remember anything from the night before? He wasn't hungover – there was no pounding headache, nausea, or any other signs that would indicate a night of drinking. To his unending relief, he also wasn't naked, although he was shirtless.

Amidst his musings he felt the bed move as Shunsui began to wake. Jūshirō briefly considered feigning sleep, but Shunsui would be able to see through that very easily, and it wouldn't make the situation any less awkward.

"…Ukitake?" Shunsui questioned, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Jūshirō made a sound of acknowledgment but didn't look at his friend.

"What…?"

"I don't…. I don't know. I don't remember anything from last night."

"Me neither, but I've got a pounding headache."

Jūshirō looked over at Shunsui; the man looked paler than normal and his expression did indicate pain. It wasn't strange for Shunsui to have a hangover – everyone knew the man liked to drink – but if they'd gone out drinking together than Jūshirō should have had a hangover too, especially considering the short-term memory loss.

"Ukitake?"

"Mmmm?"

"Are you naked?"

"No."

"Oh," Shunsui said softly, nodding his head. "Well I am."

The sound Jūshirō made was somewhere between amusement and vexation. It annoyed him that Shunsui seemed to lax about the situation, but from a third-person perspective he could see the humour in the situation.

"Ukitake…you don't think we…you know…" Shunsui let his sentence die off but the implication was clear.

Jūshirō grimaced, "I don't think so? I mean, I think we would remember that at least."

"Well, how do you feel?"

Jūshirō shot Shunsui a questioning glance, "What do you mean?"

Shunsui cleared his throat, his mannerism betraying the discomfort he was feeling. "You know…I mean – _how do you feel?_ "

When the realization of what Shunsui was implying dawned on Jūshirō, he rose up onto one elbow and stared menacingly at his friend.

"Now wait a minute – why am I the one whose automatically…receiving?"

Shunsui opened his mouth to say something but closed it, apparently rethinking whatever he'd been about to say.

"No offense Ukitake," Shunsui said after a moment, "but you're not exactly the dominant one."

Jūshirō tried valiantly not to blush. What Shunsui said made perfect sense to him, but he still didn't want to admit it outright.

"Relax Ukitake," Shunsui said, his easygoing manner having returned, "It's not an insult. Besides, I've even heard some stories of men… 'topping from the bottom' I think the phrase was."

Jūshirō groaned and flopped back down onto his back, flinging his arm over his eyes. The sound of Shunsui's laughter did not help the situation at all, either.

"Come on Ukitake. We've woken up in worse situations than this. Seeing as we didn't sleep together, there's really no harm done."

"Don't say that," Jūshirō murmured, "you might jinx it."

The prospect of getting anymore sleep had gone out the window completely the minute Jūshirō had opened his eyes, so he slipped from the bed and into the bath to get ready for the day. When he came out of the bath and had dressed in his shihakushō, he was glad to see that Shunsui had also used the time to prepare for the day. It was still plainly obvious that the Eighth division captain was suffering from a hangover but that wasn't anything new.

"I need something hot and greasy," Shunsui said. "How about we go to that diner in the Second district? The one with the weird zodiac pictures on the wall."

Jūshirō shrugged, "Sounds good to me. I'm not sure they'll still be doing breakfast as this time but it's worth a shot."

They decided to walk rather than flash step; they were in no hurry and if they tried Shunsui was likely to vomit. As they passed by the divisions there were some strange looks from various officers, but no one said anything to them, so they continued on.

Until they got to the Tenth division.

"Hey! Captain Kyōraku! Captain Ukitake!"

Jūshirō looked over his shoulder to see Rangiku jogging up to them, and they both slowed to allow her to catch up.

"Vice captain Matsumoto," Ukitake greeted with an inclination of his head.

"You two look pretty spry this morning," Rangiku said. "I thought for sure you'd both be out until this afternoon. Especially you Captain Kyōraku – you drank more than anyone else!"

"You were with us last night?" Shunsui asked, surprised.

Rangiku laughed, "Oh yeah! There was a whole bunch of us at the bar. You two left kind of early though…but I guess that was the only option."

Jūshirō frowned, "What does that mean?"

Rangiku looked surprised, "You don't remember anything from last night? Nothing at all?"

Jūshirō shook his head, "Nothing. If you don't mind telling us what you remember, we'd really like to know."

Rangiku shrugged, "Okay. Why don't you two come to the division head quarters? I'll make tea!"

Jūshirō and Shunsui shared a look as they followed Rangiku. She didn't seem to be hiding anything from them; whatever had led to them both in the same bed and with less clothing that is strictly appropriate must have occurred after they'd left the bar. After they'd settled and had cups of tea in front of them Rangiku began to speak again.

"It was just a normal night of drinking," Rangiku said with a shrug. "Nothing really out of the ordinary happened – actually, Captain Ukitake you were pretty out of it after only two of three drinks. That was kind of weird."

"It must be that new medication Captain Unohana started you on," Shunsui murmured. "You're not usually that much of a lightweight."

Jūshirō shot his friend a dry look but nodded nonetheless. Unohana had mentioned that the medication would react poorly with alcohol, but he hadn't suspected it would have been to such a degree.

"You said we left early?" Shunsui asked.

Rangiku laughed, "Yeah. You went to get a jug of water to help sober Captain Ukitake up but you spilled it all over him on your way back. Captain Ukitake was drenched so you two decided to leave."

Jūshirō frowned, he hadn't noticed any wet clothing at the estate. He'd have to search when he returned, he'd likely hung it somewhere obscure in his drunken state. Rangiku's story solved a portion of the mystery, but it didn't explain why Shunsui had decided to stay the night or how they'd ended up deciding to sleep in the same bed.

"Vice Captain Matsumoto, was anyone with us after we left the bar?" Jūshirō asked.

"Yes."

Three heads turned to see the source of the voice, and both Jūshirō and Shunsui were surprised to see Tōshirō in the doorway.

"Captain Hitsugaya?" Jūshirō asked.

Tōshirō made a sound of acknowledgment, although he still looked vaguely annoyed.

"Oh that's right!" Rangiku exclaimed. "Captain Hitsugaya left with you two to make sure you'd make it back safely."

"That's very kind of you," Jūshirō said.

Tōshirō waved away the comment. "There was little to be done," he said.

"What exactly did happen after we left?" Shunsui asked.

"We walked back to Ugendō. I kept trying to tell you that you didn't need to follow us all the way but you kept insisting that you needed to make sure that," Tōshirō cleared his throat, "your 'Jyuu-chan' made it home safe."

Jūshirō glared at Shunsui at the mention of the nickname. Shunsui must have been incredibly drunk to use the name; it wasn't something that they used very often in conversation.

"And that was it?" Jūshirō asked.

Tōshirō nodded, "After you two were inside Ugendō I left. There was no reason for me to hang around."

The conversation from that point on drifted into lighter topics, and soon after Jūshirō and Shunsui said their goodbyes and continued on their way to the diner. When they'd ordered their food they got their first chance to speak about what they'd learned earlier.

"Well…it makes sense," Shunsui said simply.

Jūshirō smirked, "Apart from the part where you climbed naked into bed with me."

Shunsui laughed, "Yare, Ukitake. That's not the first time we've woken up the same bed – and let's be honest it's one of the…tamer situations where this has happened. I sleep naked at my own house, in my drunk mind it probably made sense."

Jūshirō hated to admit it, but it did make sense. He gave Shunsui a level stare before continuing, "This is one of those stories that we keep between us, agreed?"

Shunsui grinned, "Agreed."

They remained true to their word, and the story stayed between them. After they'd eaten Jūshirō left Shunsui to try and find his missing clothing – which he located hanging from one of the trees at the estate. The sigh had made him laugh, it wasn't even worth it to try and understand the logic behind such a decision.

The second task had been to change the bed linens, because he knew _exactly_ who (and what) had been in contact with them.


	20. Old Dogs and New Tricks

**A.N.** In my mind, I imagine that Shunsui and Jūshirō and like two stereotypical middle-aged men who know nothing about modern technology. I think they'd be fascinated by it, but refuse to partake in I just the same. Huge thanks for all the continued love and support – reading reviews and comments make my day. I can't believe this is my 20th fic! Stay tuned for Jūshirō's birthday fic coming later today (Dec 21) or possibly early tomorrow morning knowing me, haha.

It wasn't often that Yamamoto gave the captains and vice-captains the day off, but when he did they undoubtedly ended up in the Living World. Shunsui and Jūshirō frequented the Living World quite often, but it was always for work purposes, meaning that they did not have any time to explore or deviate from the mission. Even so, whenever they did visit the Living World to see Urahara or to assist Ichigo they were always astounded by the amount of change and development that happened in their absence.

The Soul Society was not as commonly technologically advanced as the Living World. There were computers, and every Shinigami generally had a cell phone; but only the Twelfth division used computers daily. The Gotei 13 did most of their paperwork by hand, and they had hell butterflies for fast, efficient, and secure communication. It was a system that worked, but admittedly was very old-fashioned.

When Jūshirō had first been given a cell phone, he'd regarded the thing as if it were alien. The last time he'd been in the Living World the rotary phone had been the latest technology, and now he was holding a compact phone in the palm of his hand that could do way more than just make a simple phone call. Rukia had tried to explain it to him, and he'd been able to follow along easily enough, but later on he'd found that there was so much more to the device than what he'd first thought. He and Shunsui had shared dinner together and tried to figure out the phones – and eventually they had…at least until a few years later when all the phones had been upgraded and they'd had to go through the same process all over again.

Jūshirō met with Shunsui prior to leaving for the Living World – there was no doubt that Rukia would be meeting up with Renji and the two would likely go off to do their own thing, there was no reason for Jūshirō to hang around them.

"Ready to go?" Jūshirō asked.

Shunsui's expression was somewhat mournful, "Yes. Although Nanao-chan wouldn't allow me to wear the clothes I last bought in the Living World. She said they were too outdated, but I don't think there's anything wrong with them."

Jūshirō laughed, "Kuchiki told me the same thing. I guess we'll just have to pick up some modern clothes in our travels today."

It was more or less free reign once they got to the Living World. From what Jūshirō had overheard as everyone had gathered, there were plenty of plans to go shopping and meet up at the beach. It was early summer, so the water would likely be a little cold – much too cold to entice either Jūshirō or Shunsui. Regardless, after the last time he had gone to the beach, Jūshirō had no intention of going back and risk ruining everyone's day.

Jūshirō had been able to find a new set of clothing very quickly. Shunsui had taken longer, preferring to tease Nanao with rather salacious clothing items and trying on almost everything he saw. Shunsui denied the accusation when Jūshirō tried to get him to give Nanao a break, although Jūshirō suspected that Shunsui enjoyed having Nanao dress him.

"The Living World changes so much in the short spans of time when we're not here," Jūshirō commented.

"Ukitake," Shunsui called, "is that man over there speaking into his wrist?"

Jūshirō's brows furrowed, "I think so. Maybe he's some kind of spy?"

They turned at the sound of Nanao's stifled laughter, both captains wearing identical masks of confusion.

"Something funny, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui asked.

She shook her head, the amusement still plainly visible on her face. "He's not a spy. It's called a 'smart watch'. It's a new type of technologically-advanced watch, some of them have capabilities similar to a cell phone."

Jūshirō's eyes went wide, "A watch that can make phone calls?! They can do that now?"

Shunsui looked less impressed. "Why would you want a watch that can make phone calls? Does is still tell time?"

Nanao rolled her eyes, "Of course it still tells time, don't be ridiculous. It's all about convenience nowadays, people want all of their devices to be merged into one that can do everything."

Shunsui shrugged, apparently unalarmed by the new development in technology. Jūshirō could sympathize – he didn't quite see the point of a lot of the devices and gadgets that Rukia either brought him, or wrote about in her reports.

"Do you think it's us?" Shunsui asked when they'd settled down for lunch.

"Huh?"

"Do you think it us – that we're too old to learn about all this new technology?"

Jūshirō rubbed the side of his neck as he considered what Shunsui had said. "Perhaps," he finally conceded, "But I just don't see the point in a lot of it. It just seems excessive to me."

Shunsui nodded, "I agree. All the young people seem to enjoy it though."

Jūshirō shrugged, "This is the age they're used to. We grew up at different time, with different technology."

"No technology," Shunsui corrected.

Jūshirō laughed, "So what? Does it bother you?"

"Not really," Shunsui admitted. "It seems so frivolous."

Jūshirō made a sound of agreement, "I agree…maybe we ae old."

Shunsui grinned and clapped his on the shoulder. "Well this old man needs some food. Ready to order?"

Jūshirō returned the grin. "Whenever you are," he replied.

Keeping up with technology wasn't something that interested either of them. Of course it was something that they got teased about, and there were many times when their subordinates got frustrated with their lack of know-how, but it never bothered them. They'd grown up and lived in a different time – two old dogs who admittedly could learn if the situation arose, but who found it entirely too amusing sometimes to stay exactly as they were.


	21. Happy Birthday, Captain Ukitake

**A.N.** Happy day 21! Or should I say – Happy Birthday Jūshirō Ukitake! I was excited from the get-go that I was going to be writing something on his birthday. I just love him so much. Hope you all had a great day. Enjoy!

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Jūshirō had started forgetting about his birthday when the number had reached into the thousands. It wasn't an intentional act, but after having celebrated so many, there didn't seem to be much of a point any longer. The number itself didn't bother him, he just didn't care much to keep track.

As soon as he stepped into the office, however, he was reminded very quickly of what day it way.

"Captain Ukitake!"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Have a good one captain!"

Jūshirō greeted everyone enthusiastically. Everyone looked genuinely happy for him, and their enthusiasm was contagious. When he slid the door open to his office and took in the scene, he arched an eyebrow and chuckled slightly.

"I'm almost entirely certain that it's against the law to open up someone else's mail."

From behind Jūshirō's desk, Shunsui looked up at him briefly before resuming what he'd been doing.

"You get so much mail on your birthday, Ukitake! So many young ladies swooning over you!"

Jūshirō smirked, walking over and snatching the letter from Shunsui's hands. "I do not," he asserted. "Even if I did, that doesn't mean you can open up letters addressed to me."

"I don't get any fan mail on my birthday," Shunsui pouted.

"Nice try – you couldn't care less about how much fan mail you get on your birthday." Jūshirō said as he put the letter with the numerous others on his desk and arranged them into a makeshift pile.

"Let's go for drink," Shunsui suggested.

Jūshirō gave him an incredulous look. "It's not even mid-morning yet, Kyōraku!"

"So?"

"I have work to do; I don't have the day off. Speaking of which, you should get back to the Eighth – it's too early in the week to stress Ise-san out with your antics."

Shunsui scratched the underside of his chin, "Nanao-chan doesn't need me there to run the division, she's very proficient that way. Come on, Ukitake! I'm sure Kuchiki or your third seats could hold the fort for the day."

Jūshirō crossed his arms over his chest, "The day? Just how much drinking were you planning on doing?"

Shunsui waved away the comment, "I don't know why you're putting up such a fight. Do you remember when we skipped class on your birthday at the Academy? That was a fun time."

"I ended up with a concussion and you broke your arm," Jūshirō deadpanned. "Exactly which part of that day was fun?"

"The story, Ukitake! Sometimes you have to do outrageous things just for the story."

Shunsui spoke as if his explanation made perfect sense. Although he would be hard-pressed to admit it, some of the best stories that Jūshirō had to tell were the result of Shunsui's antics. That wasn't to say that Jūshirō was entirely innocent – quite the opposite in many cases – but he had mellowed out some as he'd aged.

"I still don't thi-"

"CAPTAIN UKITAKE!"

Years of training and familiarity were the only reasons Jūshirō didn't flinch as both Kiyone and Sentarō burst into the office at the same time, brandishing absolutely massive birthday cards.

"Captain Ukitake," Kiyone began, without waiting for proper acknowledgment. "please tell this…oaf that my card is the larger one!"

"No!" Sentarō snapped, "My card is the larger one! Anyone could see that!"

Jūshirō and Shunsui shared a look at the two third-seats devolved into shouting and arguing.

"How'd you think they got those through the door?" Shunsui asked.

Jūshirō shrugged, "I don't know. They are rather large…"

Suddenly, the arguing stopped and Jūshirō came face-to-face with his two rather distraught looking third-seats.

"You don't like them?" Kiyone asked.

Sentarō smacked himself in the forehead, "Of course he doesn't like them! How could we be so stupid?!"

"No that's not it," Jūshirō said, shaking his head. "Of course I like them…I'm just trying to decide on a place to put them!"

Both Kiyone and Sentarō gave sighs of relief, smiles blossoming on their faces. Jūshirō thanked them for the cards and ushered them from the office with excuses about privileged information. In truth they were just a bit too much energy for him to deal with so early in the morning, and he was truly at a loss with what he should do with the two oversized cards.

"So…" Shunsui began. "Drinks?"

"After work," Jūshirō acquiesced.

* * *

He'd barely made the porch outside the head quarters when Shunsui appeared, a playful grin on his face.

"I don't know why you're so excited," Jūshirō said. "Alcohol is not exactly a special occasion for you."

"Don't be like that," Shunsui chided. "It's your birthday! We're going to celebrate the fact that you get even more handsome as the years go by."

Jūshirō laughed, "Nice try. Let's get going."

They arrived at the bar within moments. Jūshirō was glad that Shunsui had chosen a place that served some form of substantial food; he hadn't eaten since lunch and without food the night was going to end very early. As the approached Jūshirō was surprised that there wasn't almost no sound coming from inside the establishment. Although it wasn't really late enough for drunken antics, usually there was quite the crowd at the end of the day.

Jūshirō hesitated when he would have stepped into the bar. The lights were off, perhaps they were closed –

"SURPRISE!"

Jūshirō bumped back into Shunsui as the lights were turned on and nearly every captain and vice captain, along with several others, jumped out to greet them. The confusion must have been evident on his face because Shunsui laughed heartily and clasped him on the shoulders.

"Surprise party?" Jūshirō murmured.

Shunsui nodded enthusiastically, "Yup! Pretty nice, eh? Nanao-chan helped me organize it."

"'Helped'? How exactly did you contribute in any way?"

Jūshirō looked to his side where Nanao had appeared. Contrary to the annoyed look she gave her captain, when she looked at him her gaze softened and she smiled.

"Happy birthday, Captain Ukitake." Nanao said as she handed him a card.

He smiled, "Thank you, Vice Captain Ise."

As Shunsui and Nanao began to bicker, Jūshirō began to make his way through the crowd, greetings and well-wishes came from everyone he encountered. Despite the fact that he didn't go out of his way to celebrate, Jūshirō had to admit that seeing everyone together was nice.

He was deep into conversation with the Tenth division when Shunsui finally rejoined him, dropping down into the booth next to him.

"What going on here?" Shunsui asked before refilling his sake cup.

"Captain Hitsugaya gave me a book about bonsai tree-trimming!" Jūshirō exclaimed.

"Bonsai tree-trimming?" Shunsui repeated slowly.

Jūshirō nodded as he gestured to the book on the table, flipping through the pages enthusiastically and stopping every couple of pages to point something out that he thought was particularly interesting.

"Isn't it great?" Jūshirō asked.

Shunsui nodded, and glanced at Tōshirō who almost looked like he regretted buying the book. It was a well-known but seldom talked about fact that the bonsai trees in the Thirteenth division looked like someone had gone at them with a hacksaw, however, Jūshirō took so much joy from the act that no one had the heart to say anything to him.

As the night progressed, both Shunsui and Jūshirō took amusement from watching the others get progressively more drunk. Both had nonverbally agreed to enjoy the night without getting excessively drunk. Soon enough people were getting ready to leave, and when most had gone Jūshirō decided it was time for him to call it a night as well. The night air was cold, and Jūshirō regretted not bringing an extra haori as he and Shunsui walked back towards the Eighth.

"That was really great, thanks Shunsui" Jūshirō said.

Shunsui winked, "Don't mention it. It doesn't take much to get people to celebrate this close to the holidays anyways,"

Jūshirō laughed, "Maybe so, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

Shunsui nodded, "Did you figure out what to do with those two rather…overzealous cards?"

"I got rid of them."

Shunsui tipped his hat back to get a better look at his friend, "Oh?"

Jūshirō grimaced, "They both wrote my age in rather large numbers on the inside."

Shunsui's laughter could be heard from the Fourth.


	22. In Which the Tables are Turned

**A.N.** A little bit of a different style of story for day 22. It wasn't how I'd originally planned it – for some reason Jūshirō didn't even appear until the second half. It may seem like I'm playing down the relationship between Nanao and Shunsui, but I do ship them hard core, that's just not what this series is about. This idea has been bouncing around my head for a while and with only three fics left I figured now was the time. Enjoy!

* * *

The first morning that Shunsui suspected he might have been coming down with the flu was when he woke up feeling achy. He hadn't done anything particularly strenuous the previous day – drills and teaching advanced sword work classes were not exactly enough to give me sore muscles. The thought of illness had briefly crossed him mind but he'd pushed it aside; he was a healthy man with a good immune system. Besides, he hadn't been in contact with anyone who had showed any signs of sickness in his recent memory. He'd resigned himself to spending more time stretching, enough tea to open up his own shop, and a long bath at the end of the day.

When he'd woken up the following morning feeling congested and with even more aching muscles it had been harder to ignore the obvious. As much as Shunsui enjoyed days off, it was much more fun to try and find spots to hide from Nanao and take naps in the afternoon. Besides, he doubted Nanao would have any sympathy for him at all. Although he couldn't deny that he was definitely coming down with a cold, he could put his faith in his immune system and hope that he'd be feeling much better when he woke up the following morning.

He wasn't.

Shunsui groaned and pulled the sheet up over his eyes, he hadn't even opened them but the sunlight against his eyelids aggravated his pounding headache. He was drenched in sweat but he feared rising from the bed – every muscle in his body ached. His head was fuzzy and the nausea was unrelenting. His sinuses were completely blocked, which had caused him to sleep with his mouth open, drying out his throat in the process and making it extremely sore. He rolled over in the bed, putting his back to the window, and wondered how long it would be before Nanao stopped by to chastise him for skipping work. Maybe if she saw the state he was in she would take pity on him and bring him some medicine or some soup.

It took an hour.

In truth, he was surprised when he woke up as he sensed someone's else spiritual pressure, that it had taken so long. He wasn't generally late to work, perhaps something had come up? The thought didn't worry him – Nanao could take care of anything that came up at the office.

"Nanao-chan," he greeted hoarsely when the door to his bedroom slid open.

"Captain," Nanao sniffed. "You're sick."

"How observant of you," he murmured.

He sighed when he heard her retreat and resigned himself to a day spent in bed. He'd almost dozed off again when he heard her come back into the room.

"Do I smell ginger?" He asked.

Nanao made a sound of confirmation as she knelt at the bedside, putting her in his line of view.

"It's ginger tea – good for your immune system and it might warm you up, you're shivering. First open your mouth, I need to take your temperature."

Quite a few jokes went through Shunsui's mind as the various ways a temperature could be taken occurred to him, but he was feeling too awful to voice any of them. Instead he opened his mouth obediently and closed his lips around the thermometer, waiting patiently for the reading to complete.

When the thermometer beeped to signify the reading was complete Nanao pulled it back and read the number. The irritated _tsk_ sound she made told him all he needed to know.

"You've probably got the flu," Nanao said as she put the teacup on the bedside table. "If you had gotten your flu shot like Captains Unohana and Ukitake had suggested you could have avoided this situation entirely."

"I don't like needles," he grumbled.

"Do you like how you feel right now?" She countered.

"I would feel much better if my Nanao-chan would stay and give me a sponge bath."

"Absolutely not," she snapped, her eyes flashing with annoyance.

"Cruel, cruel Nanao-chan," he pouted, pushing himself up to a semi-sitting position so that he could try the tea.

Nanao ignored his comment, pushing her glasses higher on her nose. "There are pain killers on the table and I'll send third seat Enjōji around to deliver some soup later on his lunch break. You should also try and bathe at some point – you look horrible."

"Easy on the flattery Nanao-chan," he murmured dryly.

Nanao arched an eyebrow, but her expression softened nonetheless. "Try and get some rest Captain. If you miss too many days of work, I'll have to bring the paperwork here for you to complete."

Shunsui grimaced, "So diligent Nanao-chan but I doubt that will be necessary."

Nanao grinned as if she'd just won some sort of battle, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. She bid him farewell and after she'd gone Shunsui focused of finishing the tea. It warmed him from the inside-out and helped to clear the fuzziness in his head, although he still felt horrible. The prospect of food was unappealing to him, but he was sure that the soup would be delicious and enticing when it arrived. He didn't even remember putting the cup back at the bedside before falling back asleep.

* * *

He wouldn't have thought it possible, but later that evening he felt even worse. Nanao must have notified the Fourth division because Hanatarō had stopped by in the middle of the afternoon with a course of antiviral medications for him to begin taking and strict instructions for bedrest and plenty of fluids. Enjōji had placed a pitcher of water and a glass by his bedside along with the soup before he'd gone, which Shunsui was eternally grateful for as whenever he woke up he was parched.

He'd managed to drag himself out of bed for a bath, and had temporarily felt much better. The warm water had soothed his muscles and helped to clear his sinuses. Afterward he'd had enough energy left to change the damp bedsheets before collapsing into the new ones and burying his head in the pillows.

When he did wake up again – feeling horrible – it was to the smell of very enticing food. He did notice that it was much darker in the room; someone had closed the blinds. Shunsui rubbed at his temples, the pain medication he'd taken for his head and body aches was beginning to wear off.

"There's more medication on the bedside table," a familiar voice said.

"Ukitake," Shunsui croaked.

"Oh! I brought some more soup as well. That other stuff is good but it doesn't taste good cold or reheated. Trust me on that one."

"Everything hurts," Shunsui complained.

"How many times did Captain Unohana and I tell you to get your flu shot? Maybe next year you'll listen to us."

"I can't breathe."

"Well you can speak, so I'm fairly certain you can breathe."

"Ukitake…" Shunsui whined.

Jūshirō laughed softly, before moving to the bedside and filling the glass with water and gathering two pain tablets off the table. When Shunsui had maneuvered himself into a sitting position, Jūshirō handed him the pills and the water, which were downed in one gulp.

"Is it safe for you to be here?" Shunsui asked.

Jūshirō shrugged, "I've had my flu shot but I probably won't be hanging around much until you're well again."

Shunsui nodded slowly before letting his head fall to rest against the headboard. The period of time between taking a pain pill and having it begin to work was frustrating to Shunsui. Patience wasn't always a virtue he possessed. When he felt one of Jūshirō's hands at his forehead, brushing the hair back, he leaned into the touch – and was pleasantly surprised when the headache began to fade. Ukitake had become quite proficient at healing kidōs after years of being subjected to them.

Shunsui had all but fallen asleep when Jūshirō finally pulled his hand away. He didn't even have it in him to complain as he felt himself tucked into bed as one would tuck in a child.

"Feel better, Kyōraku." Jūshirō said quietly.

Shunsui was gone before his head even hit the pillow.


	23. Cooking Lessons

**A.N.** Happy Day 23! I can't believe we're almost done, it feels like just yesterday was Day 1 and the prospect of 25 days seems so daunting. By the way: I'm not trying to shove Shunnao down your throats or anything, the scenarios just seem to make more sense that way. I apologize if it's a relationship that you hate but there's nothing I can do about it. Anyways – Enjoy!

* * *

Shunsui Kyōraku was a horrible cook. He could cook to keep himself alive, but he preferred – and had the money – to eat out or order in. His family was one of nobility; he'd never had to cook for himself growing up and once he'd been sent away to the Academy the meals were prepared for him just as they were the other students. He'd learned how to cook in the battlefield, learned how to make small, nutrient-dense meals to provide energy while conserving resources, but had never gone further to learn how to cook more sophisticated meals.

Jūshirō Ukitake, on the other hand, could cook fairly well. Being the eldest of eight siblings had come with certain responsibilities, and cooking had been one of them. The Ukitake family was one of lower nobility, and could afford some servants, but the servants they'd had had taken care of the grounds and the estate – keeping up appearances while the more mundane tasks had been left to the older siblings. He quite enjoyed cooking, it was a therapeutic activity and he seemed to have a natural aptitude for it. When he'd become a captain the time he'd had to be able to cook his own meals had been reduced considerably, so he often found himself eating out with Kyōraku. He'd never had to teach anyone other than his siblings to cook, and had never really considered doing so.

That was, until Shunsui had approached him one afternoon and demanded that Jūshirō teach him how to cook an 'outstanding meal that would help him to woo his precious Nanao-chan'.

"Why couldn't you have chosen a simpler dish to start off with?" Jūshirō asked as he spread out the ingredients

"Sukiyaki and red bean jelly are not exactly complicated, Ukitake?"

"Do you even _like_ red bean jelly?" Jūshirō asked.

"I…don't hate it. It doesn't matter – it's one of Nanao-chan's favourites so it needs to be made perfectly."

Jūshirō smirked, there was apparently no point in trying to talk Shunsui out of making the perfect meal he'd imagined. He had no idea how exactly Shunsui had managed to talk Nanao into sharing dinner with him – a dinner made by him, nonetheless, but Shunsui was more than prepared to go the full nine yards to make the dinner special.

"Fine," Jūshirō acquiesced, trying his hair back neatly, "but we need to start with the red bean jelly because that needs to sit for at least three hours to set properly."

"Okay," Shunsui agreed, and looked at Jūshirō expectantly.

Jūshirō's expression was one of confusion. "Did you write down a recipe or something?" He asked.

"Nope. Don't you know how to make it?"

Jūshirō sighed and rolled his eyes. "I mean; it's been a while but I guess I remember."

"Excellent," Shunsui said, clapping his hands. "You get started and I'll get the sake!"

"No, Kyōraku! You can't cook when you're drunk!"

Shunsui waved the comment away nonchalantly, "Nonsense Ukitake! Besides, there's nothing wrong with having a drink or two. No one said anything about getting drunk."

Jūshirō busied himself with preparing the water and the beans for boiling. Initially he'd told himself that he wasn't going to cook the entire meal, but he was beginning to have his doubts.

An hour later, Jūshirō found himself instructing Shunsui about how to mash and strain the beans properly so that none of the bean skins got into the paste mixture.

"What do you do with the skins?" Shunsui asked.

"Throw them out," Jūshirō said simply. "The composition of the skins would hinder the jelly from setting properly."

Shunsui gave him an incredulous look, "So we just spent the last hour essentially removing the outer skin from beans?"

"That's exactly what we did, yes."

Shunsui let out an exaggerated sigh as he set the cotton cloth over the pot to allow the bean-water mixture to drain.

"Cooking is so tedious; why do you enjoy this?"

"Cooking red bean jelly is tedious," Jūshirō corrected with a grin. "Cooking the sukiyaki takes less than half an hour. I've always enjoyed cooking, it's an activity that smells good and usually ends up tasting amazing. What's not to like?"

"Right…it probably has nothing to do with the fact that you need one aspect of your life to exercise control over because your health sucks."

Jūshirō barked a laugh, which ended in a slight coughing fit. When he'd calmed himself down he crossed his arms over his chest and shot Shunsui and irritated look.

"You know, just because I'm the better cook doesn't mean that you have to tear it down for me."

Shunsui grinned, "So I'm right?"

Jūshirō swatted Shunsui in the arm, "Go squeeze your bean paste."

Shunsui gave him a saucy wink before going to continue working on the meal. The afternoon passed in a steady and continual process of cooking. Jūshirō had to admit that Shunsui wasn't as bad as he'd assumed, although he did have to prevent the kitchen from catching on fire when the sake had been added to the pan when they'd begun to cook the beef. Jūshirō was even more surprised when he checked the fridge about a half hour before Nanao was supposed to arrive and found that the red bean jelly had actually set.

"This wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be," Shunsui confessed as put the excess ingredients away.

"Imagine that. It's not like I've been trying to convince you of that for hundreds of years or anything."

Jūshirō laughed when Shunsui threw the dish towel at him. "Well it's true!" He insisted.

"You're my best friend, you're not supposed to say 'I told you so'" Shunsui said.

Jūshirō arched an eyebrow, "Do I even need to respond to that? Are you sure you want me to respond to that?"

Shunsui mock-shivered before turning suddenly to face Jūshirō. "We didn't make any extra! You could have taken some with you for your own dinner."

Jūshirō laughed and shook his head, "That's okay. I think I'll let you and Ise-san share the first meal you've ever cooked. As you so delicately pointed out…my health already sucks."

Shunsui's expression was unamused, "Very funny Ukitake. Now get out before Nanao-chan gets here."

Jūshirō held his hands up in defeat, "Fine, fine. Enjoy your meal – if this goes well you'll be able to come and cook for me when I'm ill."

"Unlikely. Good-bye Ukitake."

"Give my regards to the chef," Jūshirō called back over his shoulder on his way out. As he walked back to Ugendō he passed Nanao. Although not exactly 'dressed up' for the dinner, Nanao did look better than she normally did. It made Jūshirō smile; maybe there was hope for the two after all.


	24. The End of an Era

Shunsui Kyōraku was assassinated two years into his Head Captaincy.

It turned out he wasn't the only one who could use shadows to his advantage. His attacker had materialized behind him and had slashed his across his back – right shoulder to left hip – before stabbing him through the back, a direct hit to his heart. He'd had no time to react; he'd stood to stretch after hours of paperwork, his swords mounted on the wall behind the desk as they normally were to allow him to sit and work comfortably. He never even saw who they were nor did he recognize the spiritual pressure; and when he found that he could not draw any air in when he went to inhale he couldn't have cared less who the assassin was. His mind, body, and spirit committed to one task – don't die.

He didn't feel the hardwood floor under his knees when they gave out from underneath him, but he did notice the disturbing pool of blood that was beginning to form underneath him, and he did notice the sticky quality that his clothing took on as they soaked in the blood from his wounds and clung to his body. He tried again to breathe and finally – _finally!_ – was able to suck in air, the burning in his chest caused by the lack of air and wound was almost mitigated by the amount of burning caused by trying to breath with a wound in his chest.

It felt like hours before he felt small, frantic hands turning him onto his back – when had he fallen completely to the ground? Lying on the ground on his back was excruciating, every muscle in his body was aflame, but he knew it wasn't the slash that would kill him, it was the hole in his heart. He could hear someone's panicked shouting but he couldn't make out the words, couldn't tell if they were addressing him or someone else. He couldn't even muster the strength to open his eyes. Did he really need to? The only person with such small hands that would have gotten to him so quickly and be so concerned about him was Nanao-chan. And if Nanao-chan was with him then everything would be okay, she'd never let him down.

The burning in his chest faded to an agonizing simmer and he dimly realized that Nanao must have started to treat him with kidō. His vice captain had always been particularly skilled at kidō, but the only ones who had any chance of saving him were in the Fourth division and he had no way of knowing if they even knew of his condition.

It all seemed to cruel to him. He'd been murdered in his office, in the middle of the afternoon on a Thursday. Shunsui had always fancied that he would die in battle; die an honourable death with his comrades against a formidable enemy that was worth the time and energy. He'd known for a long time that the Central 46 had a less than favourable opinion of him, but he had never considered that they would stoop so low as to assassinate him in broad daylight.

It was becoming harder to maintain his consciousness and he knew that the minute he let himself go that it would be the end. He couldn't feel his finger or toes, nor could he feel the floor underneath his body or the hands that must have been supporting him. The indescribable pain seemed to blur the confines of reality and dream, and he had no concept of time. He wished he could open his eyes, just once more, to be able to say good-bye to Nanao, Ukitake, and the numerous others that he loved. He tried, but could not find the muscles that would open his eyes or allow him to speak any final words, and his world faded to black.

* * *

Jūshirō's eyes burned when he pressed his palms into them to shut out the bright lights inside the room of the Fourth division. How long had he been there? Sitting at Shunsui's bedside and praying for a miracle. He'd been on his way to visit the First when he'd heard Nanao's shouts and when he'd burst into the office time had slowed and his body had begun to operate automatically. There had been no time to panic or worry about the fact that he was treating his best friend when he'd added his kidō to Nanao's in an attempt to save Shunsui's life. There weren't many ways to survive being stabbed through the heart, they'd rushed him into surgery but the damage had been to extensive. Isane had explained to both him and Nanao that they'd only bought Shunsui time – time for his friends and loved ones to come and say good-bye. She couldn't say definitively whether or not he would wake again, but she'd assured them that he wasn't in any pain.

Jūshirō looked across the bed to the empty spot that Nanao had sat in for hours. She'd quietly said something about having to address the Gotei 13 as co-vice captain of the First division but he hadn't really been paying attention. He turned his attention back to Shunsui in the bed; under normal circumstances he could be mistaken for just being asleep, however, his skin was pale, his breathing erratic, and his heartbeat monitored by the machine was infrequent. His heart rate had been gradually slowing, Isane had explained that the wound was causing improper and inefficient pumping of blood, and that the number on the monitor was probably incorrect anyways. The sheet covering him only came up to the middle of his chest, showcasing the thick white bandages that wrapped almost the entirety of his chest. His chestnut hair, normally pulled back to try and tame the unruly locks, was now splayed across the pillow, the tips matted with blood. Shunsui never wore his hair down and it was a strange sight, but only that solidified in Jūshirō's mind, the severity of the situation.

In desperation, Jūshirō leaned over the bed, twisting his fingers into Shunsui's hair and pressing their foreheads together, before moving so that he could speak directly into Shunsui's ear.

"Stop this," he whispered desperately. "Stop this right now. I'm supposed to die first, everyone knows that."

Jūshirō squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed past the wad of cotton lodged in his throat. Tears rolled down his face and dripped onto the bedsheets, the pressure in his own chest was immense, and Jūshirō realized that he had forgotten to breathe. The next breath in was ragged and painful, the sound unfitting of his position and stature.

"Wake up," he begged. When there was no answer his fingers tightened on Shunsui's hair. "First Genryūsai-sensei, Unohana-senpai, and now you. Why am I the last one left? Why am I the one who has to carry this burden?"

He stayed like that for what felt like a long time. His back ached from bending over the bed and is fingers hurt from clenching but he refused to move. Jūshirō focused on wrapping his spiritual pressure around the both of them, using his to strengthen and comfort Shunsui as best he could.

"Crying over me...ne…Ukitake?"

Jūshirō's breath caught and he froze, convinced that his ears were playing tricks on him.

"I'm dying. T-the least you could do," Shunsui paused to pull in some shallow breaths, "is let me see your handsome face…one last time."

Jūshirō swallowed hard and took another breath to fortify himself before he pulled away and braced himself on his hands. He swiped once underneath ether eye to wipe away any remaining tears as he looked for what would likely be the last time, into the depthless brown eyes of his greatest friend.

There was a moment of blind panic that blossomed over Shunsui's face, his shallow breathing quickening and his fingers twitching at his side.

"I'm afraid," Shunsui whispered brokenly.

Before Jūshirō could respond the panic had passed, and the expression on Shunsui's face left no room for discussion about what has just transpired. Jūshirō focused again on sending courage and support through his spiritual pressure to Shunsui, and he vainly thought that perhaps Shunsui's seemed to calm fractionally.

"I'll look after them," Jūshirō said. There was no need to clarify who 'they' were, and Shunsui seemed pleased by the declaration.

When Shunsui's breathing would have become more laboured, he seemed to lose the energy to meet the oxygen demands of his body. Jūshirō watched as Shunsui met his gaze one last time, nodded his head sharply, and let go. His exhale long but no longer pained, and a short time later the monitor signaled the halting of Shunsui's heart.

The ringing in his ears began immediately as Jūshirō began to realize what had just happened. A far away piece of him recognized that he had a very limited of time before the space that he had seen Shunsui to his death with would become crowded with his people. While he knew that his arms would still bear his weight, Jūshirō leaned down and pressed a kiss to Shunsui's brow, before pulling back and away from the bed.

Jūshirō sat back and watched Nanao's heart break when she returned to find that her beloved captain had died. The pain on her face was visceral, but he found himself incapable of experiencing anyone else's pain as he worked through his own. As he watched her he found a renewed conviction in the promise he had made to Shunsui. He would look after those that Shunsui had loved, perhaps together they could find a new light in a world that had been pitched into darkness.

* * *

 **A.N.** Hi – I know it's Christmas Eve (Actually it's Dec 25 whoops good job Jen Merry Christmas everyone), I know it's awful, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I know both Jushiro and Shunsui might seem a bit OOC here but honestly they just love each other so much so I didn't find it very out of character. I hope you enjoyed anyways. If you celebrate Christmas let me wish you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy!


	25. A Time for Friends

**A.N.** Welcome to Day 25! I know technically there's only 24 days in an Advent Calendar, but it was always my intention to post 25 fics. This last one is just a small, light-hearted Christmas-themed story. It's just a nice note to end off on, especially after yesterday. Thanks for all the support this past month. One last time…Enjoy.

* * *

As a rule, they didn't buy each other gifts.

There was no point; what do you buy for someone who's lived for centuries? They both lived comfortably off their captain's salary; even Jūshirō who sent much of his paycheck away to support his seven younger siblings was able to live in comfort. Neither Jūshirō nor Shunsui made wish lists when Christmas came around, although they were asked by friends and others who would buy them a gift or two. In truth there was nothing that either of them particularly needed, and they'd fallen into the habit of picking up small gifts throughout the year if they saw something they thought the other would enjoy or get a laugh out of.

They did, however, spend most Christmases together. Shunsui avoided his family like the plague – he'd never gottem along with them and after his brother died he'd really had no reason to visit. He did make a point to send letters every once and a while and visit on his mother's birthday, but they didn't expect him to show up on Christmas, and he never made the effort.

Jūshirō did get along quite well with his siblings, but most of them had married and some had families of their own. Ugendō wasn't quite large enough for all of them to get together and he wouldn't want to intrude on any of their families. They seemed to get along well enough without seeing him during the holidays.

"Yare yare, Ukitake. A bottle of sake? How did you know?"

Jūshirō smirked, "I actually bought it very early into the year in the Living World and I meant to give it to you on your birthday. I found it when I was cleaning out my cupboards the other day."

Shunsui took a drink from his glass and, finding it to his liking, nodded before downing the rest of the liquid.

"If my Nanao-chan only knew that you were one of the most prominent suppliers of my sake…perhaps then she would go after you instead of finding increasingly larger books to hit me with."

"It's one of the only gifts I can give you that I know you'll use entirely," Jūshirō said simply, seemingly unfazed by Shunsui's covert threat.

"Did you want a drink?" Shunsui asked.

Jūshirō shook his head, "Maybe later. I'm okay for now."

Shunsui shrugged, "We don't normally do gifts. I don't have anything for you."

Jūshirō smiled, "I wasn't expecting anything. Regardless my birthday was four days ago, and that surprise party at the bar was enough for me. It was nice to see everyone together."

"It was," Shunsui agreed.

They prepared dinner – Jūshirō cooked and Shunsui drank – and they ate out on the porch. It was surprisingly mild out for the end of December, which was beneficial for Ukitake's health and was complementary to Shunsui's habit of sleeping outside whenever possible. In truth, Christmas for them was a lot like many other days that they spent together. Jūshirō loved Christmas but he had stopped decorating Ugendō many years ago, although he did still string lights on the outside of the estate. Shunsui could never be bothered, but he did enjoy the opportunity to buy scandalous gifts for Nanao; who did often gift him with an 'obligatory' present in return.

"It's supposed to be a full moon tonight," Shunsui said as they relaxed on thick cushions after they'd finished their meal.

"On Christmas? I can't even remember the last time that happened."

Shunsui said nothing in reply, instead he pulled a second sake dish from his uniform and placed it on the porch near Ukitake, filling it with sake.

Jūshirō arched an eyebrow, "I never said that I was going to drink."

"But you will," Shunsui murmured, amused. "It's Christmas, Ukitake. This is a celebration that demands alcohol!"

Jūshirō laughed, and took a small drink of the sake. Although he wouldn't consider himself to be a sake connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, he'd been purchasing it long enough to be able to pick out good bottles. The bottle he'd given Shunsui was no exception and he was secretly pleased with himself.

The evening faded into night and soon enough they were watching the full moon in the calm sky; not a cloud in sight to block the beautiful view.

"Long year," Shunsui murmured absently.

Jūshirō made a sound of agreement.

"A quick one nonetheless," Shunsui continued.

Jūshirō nodded again before looking over at his best friend. "A toast, perhaps?" He offered, holding out the dish.

Shunsui smiled, and raised his disk to Jūshirō's, knocking them against each other lightly.

"To the Gotei 13," Shunsui murmured.

"To the Gotei," Jūshirō echoed, smiling.


End file.
